Unexpected
by Emmie0928
Summary: Victoire Weasley never thought this would happen to her. She was too young. There was also the little issue of which boy to choose. Was it even possible to be in love with two people at the same time? Prequel to "Victoire's Little Sister".
1. Chapter 1

_So even though I just started another Teddy/Victoire story, the idea for this one popped into my head and I had to start writing it._

_I hope you like it._

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><p>I stared at the small white stick in my hand, the little pink plus sign staring back at me, taunting me.<p>

Pregnant.

I moaned, tossing the stupid pregnancy test in the trash and lying down on my bed.

What was I going to do? Who was I supposed to tell?

I tried to imagine the look on my parent's faces if I told them I was pregnant.

My mum would probably start screaming at me in French. She always started shouting in French when she was angry. And it was never a pleasant experience, let me tell you. Fleur Weasley could be a scary woman when she wanted to be.

And then there would be my dad's reaction. He wouldn't yell at me. He'd never been much shouter. He would just look at me, disappointment etched all over his face.

I'd let them down. Pregnant at seventeen.

And right before my final year at Hogwarts, too. This definitely wasn't part of my plans. My seventh year was supposed to be amazing.

But that wasn't going to happen. Would I even be able to go back there? Were pregnant girls even allowed at Hogwarts?

I vaguely remembered there being a pregnant Ravenclaw when I was in my first year, so I supposed they were.

I decided I needed to tell the baby's father.

Colin was a muggle who lived in the nearby town. He'd been my boyfriend for two years. My parents hated him.

My dad hated him because he hated any boy who could potentially hurt his baby girl. My mum hated him because he had long hair, tattoos, and was in a rock band.

"'Victoire, 'e looks filthy," she told me, her nose wrinkled in distaste, after she met him the first time.

I reminded her that Dad used to have long hair.

She dismissed that fact with a wave of her hand.

"Yes, but it was much cleaner. And 'e had none of those 'ideous tattoos. Colin looks like a delinquent."

Yes, she would be thrilled that he was fathering her first grandchild.

I pulled myself up off my bed and headed downstairs.

My mum was in the kitchen, humming to herself, as she made dinner.

"Hey, Mum, I'm going into town. I won't be long."

She nodded absentmindedly. "Alright, darling."

The walk into town seemed longer than usual. The entire time I just kept running through different reactions Colin might have when I told him.

By the time I reached the small store that he worked at part time, My palms were sweating and I was shaking uncontrollably.

The bell chimed as I pushed open the door. Colin looked up from behind the counter and shot me a grin.

"Hey, babe," he said.

"Hey," I said, forcing myself to smile. It felt more like a grimace.

I approached the counter and leaned against it. "We need to talk," I told him. "It's important."

"I'm off in ten minutes," he replied.

Ten minutes later, we were standing outside the store.

Colin lit a cigarette. He took a long drag and I wrinkled my nose. I hated cigarettes.

"So what was it you wanted to talk about?" he asked.

"Let's go for a walk," I suggested.

"Okay," he agreed. "But only if this doesn't take long. I've got band practice soon."

He followed me to the beach, where I sat down on a log. He sat down next to me.

"Do you like kids?" I asked him.

He looked at me strangely. "I dunno," he said. "Why?"

I took a deep breath. Here goes nothing, I thought.

"I'm pregnant," I whispered.

I watched Colin's eyes widen. He sprang up from the log.

"How the hell are you pregnant?" he shouted. "You told me you were on birth control!"

"I am," I said. This wasn't technically true. But I had always used a contraceptive spell. I didn't know why it hadn't worked this time. It had always worked, until then, apparently.

He glared at me and I cringed.

"I can't deal with a baby right now," he snapped. "My band is on the verge of getting a record deal. We're about to hit it big."

I rolled my eyes. Yeah right. He was always saying that.

"This is more important than your stupid band, Colin."

"To you, maybe. But not to me," he said coldly. "I'm going to be a successful musician and some slutty girl and her stupid baby are not going to get in my way."

I felt like he'd ripped open my chest and torn my heart into pieces.

I felt the tears welling up in my eyes. I watched as he turned around and trudged away.

As soon as he was gone, I let out a loud sob and the tears started falling rapidly.

I stood up, but I couldn't muster up the energy to apparate back to my house, so I ended up falling down into the sand. I don't know how long I lie there crying. It might have been hours.

Eventually I heard someone calling my name. I opened my eyes and looked up at a tall figure with blue hair.

Teddy Lupin.

He was looking down at me. His eyes were filled with concerned.

"What happened to you, Vic?" he asked, his voice soothing.

"I don't want to talk about it now," I said, wiping my eyes on my sleeve.

He didn't press the subject, which I appreciated. Instead he held out his hand and pulled me up.

"What are you doing here anyway?" I asked him.

"My grandma and I are having dinner with you guys tonight. Didn't you get my owl?"

"Oh, yeah." I'd forgotten.

"The food smelled delicious," he told me. "You're mum's brilliant."

"Not as brilliant as Andromeda," I said, referring to grandmother's excellent cooking.

"I don't know," he said. "It's a close call."

I smiled, relieved that Teddy was with me. He never failed to make me feel better.

He grinned back.

"Come on," he said, grabbing my hand.

A second later, we appeared outside Shell Cottage.

I was about to walk inside, when Teddy grabbed me.

"You'll tell me what happened later, won't you?" he asked, his eyes staring into mine.

I nodded and he let go of me. We headed inside.

My younger siblings, Dominique and Louis, were already seated at the dining room table.

"Finally!" exclaimed Louis loudly. "I'm starving!"

My parents and Andromeda came hurrying into the room.

"I found her," said Teddy.

"Victoire Fleur Weasley," my mother snapped. "Where in the world were you?"

"At the beach," I replied. "Lost track of time, sorry."

"Were you with _that boy_?" she asked.

"Only for a little bit," I replied. "He had band practice to get to."

She opened her mouth to say something else, when my dad cut her off.

"Let's discuss this later," he said. "The food will get cold."

I shoot him a grateful look, before sitting down next to Teddy.

After dinner, my parents and Teddy's grandma went off to talk, probably about us kids, and Dominique and Louis headed off to the beach with some friends, leaving me and Teddy alone.

We went out onto the porch and sat on the swing.

"So," he said. "You ready to talk?"

I nod. "You have to promise not to tell anyone though."

"I promise."

"I'm pregnant," I blurted out.

His eyebrows shot up. "Really?" he gasped.

I nodded. "And let's just say that Colin didn't take it too well."

"What'd he say?"

"Basically that he wants nothing to with me or the baby," I replied, feeling those stupid tears in my eyes again.

"Oh, Vic, I'm so sorry," he said, leaning in and wrapping his arms around me.

I rested my head on his shoulder.

"Me too," I whispered.

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><p><em>Thanks for reading! Please review!<em>


	2. Chapter 2

I awoke to the smell of bacon.

Hopping out of bed, I pulled on my robe and slippers, and hurried downstairs.

Teddy was in the kitchen, making pancakes and frying bacon. I noticed that his hair was a mousy brown. I wondered if it was because he'd been worrying about me.

He and Andromeda had stayed over last night, since it was so late when everyone was done talking.

"Hey," he said, looking up and grinning. "You hungry?"

I nodded and sat down at the kitchen table.

Teddy loaded up my plate with bacon and pancakes, which I drowned in syrup.

I took a huge bite. "Mmmm," I moaned. "This is freaking delicious, Teddy."

"Thanks," he said, sitting down next to me and opening the Daily Prophet.

We sat in silence for a few minutes, me eating and him reading, before he finally broke the silence.

"When are you going to tell your parents that you're pregnant?"

"Shh," I hissed. "What if they hear you?"

He rolled his eyes. "They're not here, Vic. They went somewhere with my Grandma."

"Well, what about Dom and Louis?"

"Dom is out somewhere with that boy she has a crush on and Louis went down to the beach with some friends."

"Dom should stay away from boys. All they do is pretend to love you, before they go and rip your heart out of your chest."

"Don't let what Colin did to you turn you against all boys, Vic. Not all of us are bad."

"I know, Teddy. You're wonderful."

He grinned. "Aw shucks. You're making me blush."

I giggled.

"But seriously, Vic," he said, his expression serious again. "You need to tell them soon. You're going back to school in two weeks. You should tell them before then."

I sighed. "I know."

"How far along are you anyway?"

"Four or five weeks."

"So morning sickness should be coming along pretty soon," he said. "That will make suspicious, don't you think?"

"Not if I just tell them I'm sick, then I'll leave for school and they'll be none the wiser."

"Except you're going to tell them before you leave for school, remember?"

"Yeah, sure," I said.

"Victoire…"

"Stop nagging me, Teddy," I snapped. "I'll tell them eventually, okay? Just lay off, will you?"

He put his hands in the air. "Alright, I'm sorry. Don't kill me."

I sighed, burying my face in her hands. "I'm sorry," I mumbled. "I'm being a bitch."

"It's fine," said Teddy. "Pregnant people have the right to be a bitch."

I heard a loud gasp from somewhere behind her.

I froze for a moment before turning slowly around.

My sister Dominique was standing in the doorway, mouth open wide.

"You're pregnant?" the fourteen year old girl exclaimed.

I stood up hastily and hurried over to her sister.

"You have to swear you won't tell anyone, Dom!" I pleaded. "Not even Mum or Dad."

Dom nodded, her blue eyes wide.

"What are you going to do?" she whispered.

I shrugged. "I don't know," I murmured.

"Does Colin know?"

I felt my heart sink at the mention of his name. "He knows."

"And?"

"Colin is an arsehole, Dom."

"Oh," she said. "I see."

She looked over my shoulder at Teddy, who was still sitting at the kitchen table.

"Why did you tell him," she asked, "before you told anyone in your family?"

Her face looked hurt, as she added, "Don't you trust us? Don't you trust _me_?"

"Of course I trust you, Dom. I'm just scared, you know. And I knew Teddy wouldn't judge me or tell anyone."

"I'm not gonna judge you or tell anyone."

"Thanks," I said, wrapping my arms around her.

"You haven't hugged me in a long time," she mumbled.

"No, I suppose I haven't."

I pulled away after a minute or so. "So where's that little boyfriend of yours?"

"He's not my boyfriend," she said, blushing. "We're just friends."

I laughed. "If you say so."

She blushed even more.

"I'm gonna go now," she said, before turning and running off.

"Ah, young love," said Teddy from his seat. "So sweet."

I returned to my seat.

"Yes," I said darkly. "It does always start out sweet. But then before you know it, he's choosing his freaking band over you and his own child."

Teddy sighed. "I'm sorry I brought it up."

"It's okay," I murmured. "But if it's alright with you, I'd like to be alone for a while."

He stood up. "Okay, I'll see you later, Vic," he said.

He leaned down to kiss me on the cheek. Except I wasn't expecting it and I turned my head at the last minute, causing the kiss to land right next to my mouth.

We both jerked back quickly. I could feel my face turning red.

"Oops," mumbled Teddy, looking embarrassed. "Er, I'll just be going now. Bye."

He ran out the back door and I watched as he turned quickly on his heel and Disapparated.

I reached up and touched the place where he had kissed me. For a fleeting second, I wished he'd kiss me again. On the mouth.

I let out a deep breath, shaking my head. Pregnancy was making me crazy. Of course I didn't want Teddy to kiss me. We were friends and that was it.

And yet, he was so handsome, and nice, and smart, and funny. And he cared about me.

If it was his baby I was having, I knew that'd he'd stick around and be a father. Heck, he'd probably marry me.

I shook my head again. Not only was I wishing he'd kiss me, I was wishing he'd knock me up and marry me.

Where was the nearest insane asylum?

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><p><em>I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please, please leave me a review!<em>


	3. Chapter 3

Lying in bed, I sighed heavily. It had been nearly two weeks since I had discovered I was pregnant. In two days it would be September 1st and I'd be off to school. And yet I still hadn't told my parents.

Teddy kept harassing me about it. Telling me I needed to tell them as soon as possible, before school started. I knew he was right, but I just couldn't do it.

It was midnight and I couldn't sleep. Slipping out of bed, I got dressed and headed downstairs. Maybe I needed some fresh air.

I stepped outside into the cool, summer night. I shivered, pulling my sweater tighter around my body. I had planned on walking down to the ocean that was right by our house, but instead I found myself heading towards town.

The town was silent and dark, all the shops closed. I wandered down the streets until I came to the one place that wasn't closed.

The pub.

A group of drunken men were standing outside of it, talking and laughing loudly.

I kept my head down as I passed, not wanting to attract their attention. Not that they could hurt me. I was a witch after all.

"Victoire!" I heard a voice slur.

A very familiar voice.

Colin's voice.

I turned around.

There he was. Standing in the middle of the group.

Colin O' Brian.

"Victoire!" he repeated. "Come back!"

For a second I considered turning around and walking away, without saying anything.

But, against my better judgment, I found myself approaching him instead.

"What?" I hissed.

He grabbed me around the waist and pulled me closer.

"Lads," he said to the others, "this is my girlfriend, Victoire."

I yanked myself out of his grip. "Ex-girlfriend," I snarled.

He pulled me back and leaned in to whisper in my ear, "Come on, baby. Take me back. I'm sorry about what I said." He nuzzled my neck.

I shoved him away. "Your breath stinks, Colin," I snapped.

"Come on, Vic," he said, "I want your hot arse in my bed again."

How romantic. What did I ever see in this guy?

"I know what this is about, Colin. Your band didn't get that stupid record deal, just like always. So know you're trying to come crawling back to me. But it's not going to happen."

"Why not. You love me."

"I _loved _you."

"You don't mean that."

"Yes I do. I'm in love with someone else now."

Wait, what? Did I just say that?

Colin's eyes narrowed. "Who?"

You don't know him," I replied. "But he's nicer, smarter, and better looking than you. And cleaner," I added, wrinkling my nose in disgust, as Colin moved closer and I got a whiff of his stench.

"What's his name?"

"Teddy."

The name tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop it.

"Stupid name," mumbled Colin.

"Whatever," I said. "I'm going now."

"Which one of us is better in bed?" he asked quickly, before I could walk away.

Of course that's what he would be worried about.

"Well I can't know for sure," I replied. "But if I had to guess, I'd say he probably is. You weren't even that good."

His mouth dropped open. The other drunken idiots roared with laughter.

"I'll see you around, Colin," I said. "Or maybe I won't. I don't really care. "

And with that I turned around and headed back to Shell Cottage.

Lying in bed, I thought about what I'd said about being in love with Teddy.

It wasn't true, of course. I'd just been trying to make Colin jealous.

And yet, I couldn't stop thinking about that kiss. The one that hadn't even been on the lips, but had still sent an electric shock through my body.

I couldn't stop thinking about how Teddy was always there for me. How he never judged me or made me feel bad about myself. How I could trust him.

Oh my god. I was in love with Teddy Lupin.

The next morning I went downstairs. My mum was in the kitchen making breakfast.

"Good morning, Victoire," she said, looking up as I sat down at the kitchen table.

"Morning."

"Are you 'ungry? I made eggs."

I nodded and she set a plate down in front of me.

I took one look at them and threw up.

Stupid morning sickness.

Mum looked concerned. "Are you alright, darling? You've been throwing up a lot lately."

I pulled out my wand. "_Scourgify_."

"I'm fine, Mum. I'm sure I'll be better soon."

She didn't look completely convinced. I knew this would be as good a time as any to tell her the truth. Especially since I was returning to school the next day and after that I could only tell her by letter. And yet I still couldn't do it.

"I'm fine," I repeated.

"If you say so, darling," she said. "Teddy sent an owl earlier. 'E said 'e is stopping by later to help you pack."

I felt my face flush.

Teddy.

"Erm, alright. I'm going to go lie down."

I hurried upstairs.

An hour later, I heard a knock at my door.

"Come in," I called out.

The door opened and there he was.

Teddy Lupin.

His hair was his usual tealish-blue. His eyes were a piercing green. His arm muscles bulged under his T-shirt. He was gorgeous.

"Your mouth is hanging open, Vic."

I shut it quickly.

"Oops," I said, giggling. "Erm, come in."

He stepped inside and looked around at my cluttered room. "I see you haven't started packing yet."

"Yes, well, I'm no good at that being able to get everything to fly into the trunk neatly, like you are."

"You could have done it by hand, like you did before either of us could use magic outside school."

"That takes too much effort, Teddy."

He laughed, pulling out his wand. He gave it a flick and all my stuff: clothes, books, quills, parchment, etc., went flying into my trunk.

I glanced inside of it. Everything was neat. The clothes were folded and the books stacked.

"Thanks, Teddy," I said, flashing him what I hoped was a sexy smile.

He didn't seem to notice.

"I need to talk to you," I said. "Let's go down to the beach."

"Alright," he agreed.

Five minutes later, we were sitting down by the ocean, shoes off, toes in the water.

"I saw Colin last night."

He turned to face me, a shocked expression on his face. "What happened?"

"He told me he wanted me back and I told him that was too bad, because I'm in love with someone else."

Teddy's eyes narrowed. "You are?"

I nod.

"Do I know this guy?"

"Yes, I think so."

He looked angry. "You know Vic; I don't want you to get your heart broken again. Does this bloke know you're pregnant? Because he probably won't be okay with dating a pregnant girl…"

"Teddy," I said, trying to cut him off.

He ignored me and kept going. "… and so I just think you should rethink dating anyone right now because you might get hurt again."

"Teddy!" I repeated, louder this time. "Stop talking!"

He stopped talking.

"The person I'm in love with is you."

He blinked. "Me?"

I nodded nervously.

"Are you okay with dating a pregnant girl?" I asked him.

His gaze dropped to my lips. "Definitely okay with it," he murmured.

I smiled.

"I'm going to kiss you now," he whispered, leaning towards me.

"Okay," I whispered back, leaning in as well.

We met in the middle. Our lips pressed together and I know it sounds cheesy, but I swear the world stopped for a moment.

I pressed myself closer to him, resting my hands on his chest. His very toned chest.

His arms wrapped around my waist and he pulled me into his lap.

His mouth moved to my neck and I let out a small moan as he trailed kisses downwards to my shoulder.

After a while, I pulled away from him.

"Where are going?" he asked, as I stood up and brushed the sand off my pants.

"My mum will be expecting us for lunch soon," I told him.

"I'm not hungry," he replied, before his stomach gave a loud rumble.

I laughed. "Sure you're not."

He chuckled and stood up. "Speaking of your mum, have you told your parents yet?"

My good mood vanished immediately. "Er…"

"Victoire," he said, using that stupid superior tone of his. "You need to tell them today."

"And if I don't?"

"Then I will."

"You wouldn't."

"I would."

I glared at him. "I thought I could trust you."

"You can trust me, Vic. You can trust me to do what's best for you. And right now, your parents knowing about your pregnancy is what's best for you."

I knew he was right, but for some reason I was still angry.

"Go home, Teddy," I snapped.

"Vic," he began, grabbing my hand. "I just…"

I yank my hand away. "Go away!"

"Fine," he said, his tone cold. "But, I'm coming to King's Cross tomorrow and if you haven't told them, then I'm going to."

And with a loud crack he was gone.

I trudged back to the house.

My mum looks up when I come inside, slamming the door behind me.

"Where's Teddy?"

"Who the hell cares?" I shouted. "Not me! He's a stupid wanker."

My mum looked shocked. "Victoire, what has gotten into you?"

"A baby!" I snap. "A baby has gotten into me."

I saw Dom and Louis standing in the kitchen doorway, staring at me.

Mum's mouth fell open. "What?"

"I'm pregnant."

She was silent for a minute.

"How far along?" she finally asked.

"About six weeks."

"How long have you known?"

"Two weeks."

Her eyes started to fill with tears. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was scared, Mummy," I whispered.

She held out her arms, pulling me into a hug.

She guided me into the living room, where we sat down on the couch.

"Okay," she said. "Who else knows about zis?"

"Colin, but you were right about him. He's useless."

"Is zat it?"

I shook my head. "Teddy and Dom know, too."

"Dom knows?" she asked, looking surprised.

"She overheard Teddy and me talking about it."

She nodded slowly, looking thoughtful.

"I'll owl the school about your situation, so zey know ahead a time."

And with that she was gone.

_My situation._

I wondered if she would tell Dad or if I would have to.

At six, my Dad came home. I watched as he kissed Mum and they discussed how his day had been. She didn't say anything about me.

She poked her head into the living room, where I was sitting.

"Dinner's ready, Victoire."

I walked into the dining room, where everyone was already sitting.

My dad looked up when I walked in. "There's my, girl!" he said. "How was your last day of freedom before school?"

I sat down. "Err, it was alright."

The meal was silent for the first few minutes. Louis kept staring at my stomach.

Finally my mum spoke up. "Victoire has something she wants to tell you, dear."

My dad looked at me expectantly.

"Erm, well…" I squirmed in my seat.

I couldn't do it. I couldn't tell him. Not with everyone else staring at me.

I looked at my mum. "You tell him."

"Victoire is pregnant."

My dad dropped his fork.

The look on his face was worse than I imagined.

"How?" he demanded.

I raised my eyebrows. "I think you know how, Dad."

"Well obviously," he snapped. "I just meant…" He trailed off.

"You just meant you didn't expect your little girl to be doing that," I finish for him quietly.

He looked up at me, his face grave. "That's exactly what I meant."

"Oh, Daddy," I said, standing up and walking over to him, wrapping my arms around him. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, Vic," he said, hugging me back.

"No, it's not," I sniffed. "I let you and Mum down."

"No you didn't, darling," said my mother.

I looked over at her, surprised. "But you were acting so disappointed in me."

"I was just shocked. And so is your father. But we still love you, darling. We always have and we always will."

"I love you too, Vic," Louis added, grinning. "Plus, I'm gonna be an uncle!"

I laughed. "I love you guys."

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><p><em>So Vic finally told her parents!<em>

_Thanks for reading. Please review!_


	4. Chapter 4

King's Cross was as crowded as usual.

I stood in front of the barrier between platforms 9 and 10. The rest of my family had already gone through. I took a deep breath and gripped my luggage trolley tightly, taking a step forward.

"Victoire!" a voice shouted over the crowd, causing me to stumble slightly.

Turning around I caught sight of a figure with blue hair pushing his way through the crowd.

"Teddy!" I replied, as he appeared in front of me. I ran to him, throwing my arms around my neck, causing him to stumble back a few steps.

His arms wrapped around my waist. "Whoa, he said, laughing. "Hey, there."

I buried my face in his chest. "I was so terrible to you. And you were right, of course."

"Shh," he said, stroking my hair. "It's okay."

I pulled back slightly, so I could look up at his face.

"I told my parents."

"I knew you would. How'd they take it?"

"They were disappointed, obviously. But they were so great about it. They told me they'll always love me."

"Of course they will," replied Teddy. "That's what parents do."

He looked sad for a moment and I knew he was thinking about his parents.

"They love you," I said. "Wherever they are, they're looking down on you and they're so proud, I know they are."

He smiled. "Thanks, Vic."

He turned and glanced up at the clock. "Come on," he said, "you don't want to miss the train."

I grabbed his hand and together we walked through the barrier.

On the other side, we pushed through the crowds of people until we found my mum.

"Oh, zere you are, Victoire," she said. "Oh and Teddy, 'ello, dear."

"Hey, Fleur," he said, grinning.

"Where's everyone else?" I asked, glancing around.

"Dom and Louis ran off with some friends to find compartments and your father is talking to some old friend from school."

"Ah."

"So I better go find 'im," said Mum. She kissed me on the cheek. "Goodbye, darling. Remember if you have any questions about pregnancy, just owl me or go see Madame Pomfrey."

I nodded. "Bye, Mum."

She turned and hurried off into the crowd.

I turned to Teddy. "So…"

"So what?"

"So I guess this is goodbye," I said.

He nodded. "Yup."

I held my arms out. "Do I get a hug?"

He wrapped his arms around me. "Do you want more than a hug?" he whispered into my ear.

"Yes, please," I replied.

His lips found mine. I sighed contently. Snogging Teddy was wonderful.

"What are you doing?" asked a loud, horrified-sounding voice.

We pulled apart. James Potter was standing in front of us, mouth hanging open.

Teddy chuckled.

"I'm just seeing Victoire off, James," Teddy told him.

"You were snogging her," replied James accusingly.

"You're right. I was. Now go away."

James frowned. "You can't snog my cousin."

"And why not?"

"Because…" he spluttered, "you just can't."

Teddy raised his eyebrows. "Watch me," he said, grabbing me and kissing me again.

"Yuck!" James said, as he turned and scampered away.

I pulled away from Teddy, giggling.

"I've gotta go," I told him.

He sighed. "I don't want you to go."

"I know. Me neither, but…"

I was cut off by a loud, pompous voice.

"Victoire! Teddy!"

We both turned around. I groaned under my breath at the sight of the man approaching us.

"Hello, Uncle Percy."

"Hello, Victoire. Are you ready for your final year of school?"

I nodded, attempting to smile.

Of all the relatives that I had, and believe me, there were _a lot_, why did my Uncle Percy have to find us? The man could for hours and hours about the most boring stuff in the entire world. Luckily, I had a reason to leave. Teddy, on the other hand, would be stuck.

"I was just reminding Molly and Lucy about broomstick regulations. Very important stuff, you know…"

He kept talking and I stopped listening.

After a few minutes, I decided it was time to make my escape. "Listen, Uncle Percy, it's been great seeing you, but I don't want to miss the train. So I should probably go."

He barely nodded in my direction, as he grabbed Teddy by the shoulder and led him away.

"Have I told you about what the Minister of Magic himself told me last week? I personally found it very interesting…"

Poor Teddy. He had no means of escape.

Ah well. At least one of us had made it out alive.

I boarded the train and began peering in compartments, looking for people to sit with.

A group of scared looking first years. No.

A group of loud fifth year boys. No.

A group of gossipy third year girls. No.

Finally I found a compartment filled with familiar faces.

"Vic!" squealed my cousin Roxanne.

Rox was my Uncle George's daughter. She was a year younger than me, a fellow Gryffindor, and was my best friend at Hogwarts. Her older brother, Fred, was in my grade. He was sitting beside her and greeted me with a grin. Across from them were my other friends, Grace and Aidan, also seventh year Gryffindors.

I smiled. "Hey, everyone."

I sat down by Roxanne and soon the conversation turned to everyone's summers.

I mostly stayed quiet.

When the food trolley came around, Fred, Grace, and Aidan hurried off to buy candy, but Rox stayed put.

"You seem unusually quiet," she observed.

"I have something important to tell you later," I whispered. "I would have written to you about it, but it was way too big to put in a letter."

"Oohh," she replied. "Sounds intriguing."

I opened my mouth to reply, but was interrupted by everyone else's return.

The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful. Fred and Aidan got into an argument about Quidditch. Rox and Grace discussed boys. And I stayed silent.

After the Start-of-Term Feast, Rox nearly dragged me into an empty classroom.

"Tell me the news!" she said. "I've been dying to know."

I took a deep breath. Telling people about my pregnancy never seemed to get any easier.

"I'm pregnant."

Her brown eyes grew wide. "Are you serious?"

I nodded.

"Are you gonna keep it?"

"I think so."

"Wow," she said. "This is way bigger news than I expected."

"And that's not all the news I have either."

"There's more? What"

"I think I'm kinda dating Teddy."

"Shut up!" she squealed. "What about Colin?"

"We broke up. After he told me he wanted nothing to do with me or the baby."

Her expression grew serious. "He said that to you? What an arsehole."

"Whatever," I replied. "I'm completely over him."

She frowned. "Just like that?" she asked. "You dated him for two years."

"Yeah, well, I was at school for a lot of that time."

"Still, you must miss him a little."

"Why should I?" I asked. "Now that I'm no longer with him, I've realized he has absolutely no redeeming qualities. His hair is long and greasy. He has way too many tattoos and that ridiculous eyebrow ring. He drinks and smokes way too much. All he cares about is his stupid band, with their obnoxious music. And he could be so rude and vulgar sometimes."

"Wow," she responded. "Don't hold back."

"I could go on."

"Please don't. I think I've got the picture. But I just think that there must have been something about him that you liked, or else you wouldn't have been with him for so long."

I thought for a minute.

"Well, sometimes, when it was just me and him hanging out, he'd play his guitar for me. He'd sing these muggle love songs to me and his voice sounded really nice. Much better than when he was singing that horrible music with his band. Sometimes he'd even write songs about me and then sing them for me."

"I knew there had to be _something_ good about him," said Rox.

"I'd write to him all the time while I was here. Pages and pages. Then I'd owl the letters to my parents so they could put them in the muggle post for me. And he always responded. To every single one of those letters."

Suddenly I felt like crying. "Damn," I whispered to myself.

"What?" asked Roxanne.

"Now I do miss him."

"Aw, Vic, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up." She gave me a hug. "At least you have Teddy now, remember?"

I smiled. "That's true."

* * *

><p><em>Thanks for reading. Reviews are appreciated!<em>


	5. Chapter 5

A few days later, I was sitting in Potions class when a second year girl came hurrying into the classroom.

Professor Slughorn glanced up from his cauldron. "Can I help you?"

"The headmaster wants to see Victoire Weasley in his office," she said.

"Oh, yes, of course," said Slughorn, waving his hand in my direction. "Go on, Miss Weasley."

I grabbed my bag and followed the girl out the door. After she told me the password, I walked slowly towards the headmaster's office. I was certain that this had to do with my pregnancy. None of the staff had said anything about it yet, but my mum had written to the school about it, so I knew that they were aware of it.

I reached the office, and after saying the password, hurried up the stairs and knocked on the door.

"Come in," squeaked Professor Flitwick.

Flitwick had become headmaster the previous year, after Professor McGonagall retired.

I opened the door and walked inside.

"Good morning, Miss Weasley," said Flitwick, smiling at me. "Take a seat."

After I had, he cleared his throat. "So," he began, "I assume you know why you're here."

I nodded, blushing slightly. This was going to be awkward.

"Yes, well, to be honest with you, this conversation is quite uncomfortable for me."

"For me as well, Professor."

"But, it is also quite necessary."

I nodded. "Yes, I understand."

"There are two main things I need to discuss with you," he told me. "The first is that Madame Pomfrey has told me to tell you that you should go see her every few weeks or so. You know, so that she can do whatever tests are necessary and make sure you're doing everything you can to ensure the health of your baby."

"Okay," I said. "I'll be sure to go see her soon, then."

"The second has to do with what you're going to do after you give birth. You're due sometime in April. Which is obviously before school lets out. The staff has discussed it and we feel that the only option once you give birth is to be homeschooled."

"Homeschooled?"

"Well, you can't really keep the baby here with you. You'd never have time to get to class with a newborn on your hands. And you really shouldn't be away from your newborn for too long, so attending school while the baby stays at home with your parents is out of the question as well."

"So what would this homeschooling entail exactly?" I asked, confused.

"After you have the baby, you will go home and take care of it. But your teachers will also owl you all your assignments and you will be expected to keep up with all your reading. You will then come back to school to take your N.E.W.T.s."

I nodded. "Okay."

"Now, Miss Weasley, I'm sure you understand that this will not be easy. Caring for a baby and doing all your school work will take lots of time and effort. But, you're a smart girl and I have faith in you."

"Thanks, Professor. I'll do my best."

"I know you will," he said. "Now I think it's almost time for lunch, so hurry along now."

The next few weeks were pretty uneventful. I went to my classes, I did my homework, and I tried to pretend I wasn't actually pregnant. Of course, the morning sickness was a constant reminder that this was unfortunately not the case.

One Saturday evening, three weeks into school, I was at dinner when Roxanne came hurrying into the Great Hall.

She plopped down in the seat next to me, groaning loudly. "I don't know how I'm gonna whip the Quidditch team into shape by our first game. Bunch of lazy idiots, the lot of them."

Roxanne was captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team and she was passionate about it. Her friendly, happy demeanor always disappeared on the Quidditch field, where she worked her team to the point of tears. I'm not even exaggerating. I'd seen tough athletes break down and cry under her wrath.

Once, when I mentioned this to my Uncle Harry, he'd laughed loudly. "Sounds like her mother," he'd said. My Aunt Angelina smacked his arm in response. "I was not that bad," she'd argued. Harry just shook his head, still chuckling.

"We need you on the team, Vic. Everyone freaked out when I told them you wouldn't be playing this year and I had to bullshit some excuse about you being too busy with your schoolwork and studying for your N.E.W.T.s ."

I sighed. I missed Quidditch.

"And that got me thinking. When are you going to start telling people you're… you know?"

I groaned. "I have no idea. How are you even supposed to go about letting an entire school know about something like that?"

"Well," said Rox, considering this. "You could just stand up on the table right now and announce it to the entire school."

"I think I'll pass on that, surprisingly enough," I replied sarcastically.

"Well then, you could just let the news slip to someone and let it spread around the school on its own."

I considered this. "Maybe…" I said slowly.

Rox glanced around the room. "Aha!" she exclaimed. "Beth Clarke. She's a Hufflepuff in my year and she is the biggest gossip in the school. She'll have your news spread around the school in an hour, tops."

"I'm not sure if I'm ready for people to know yet," I said. But Rox wasn't listening; she was already waving Beth over.

"Hey, Roxanne, Victoire," she said, sliding into a seat across from us. "What's up?"

Rox leaned in close. "We have a bit of information we need spread around the school."

Beth looked excited. "You want me to start a rumor about someone?"

"Not exactly," said Rox. "It's true and it's about my friend Victoire here."

"What is it?" asked Beth.

Rox leaned across the table and whispered something in her ear.

Beth pulled back, shocked. "No way!"

Rox nodded. "It's true."

Beth tuned and stared at me. "Do you really want me to spread that around school? Cos I won't if you don't want me to. It'll be difficult because this is some very juicy gossip, but I've always respected you, Victoire, so just say the word and I won't tell a soul."

I smiled at her. I had no idea that Beth Clarke could be so sweet. I didn't know much about her, but what I did know basically involved her ability to spread rumors as fast as hookers could spread STDs. Apparently there was more to her though.

"Thanks, Beth. But I think you should go ahead and tell people. Everyone's got to find out sometime and I don't really fancy being the one to tell them."

"Well if you're sure," she said, standing up, "then I'll just be on my way."

I watched as she hurried back to her table and slid into her seat. She said something to her group of friends and the all turned to stare at me, mouths agape. I squirmed in my seat. This was going to be interesting.

By the time I finished dinner, the entire school seemed to know. As Rox and I walked back to the Gryffindor common room, people stopped in their tracks and began whispering in each other's ears.

"That's her!" I heard a first year girl whisper to her friends. "The pregnant one."

"Yeah that's me," I snapped, annoyed that they didn't have the decency to talk about me behind my back. "Would you like an autograph?"

The girls looked frightened and scampered away.

Rox grabbed my arm. "Relax, Vic. They didn't mean any harm."

"Well they have a funny way of showing it," I huffed as I shot a death glare at a group of Slytherin boys who were staring at me.

The next morning at breakfast was, put simply, hell. It was like nobody in the damn school had ever seen a pregnant person before.

"Ugh," I groaned, burying my face in my hands. "When will this end?"

"Well I would assume when something else gossip-worthy happens," replied Rox.

"Maybe someone else will get pregnant," I said. "But like by a teacher or something. That would definitely make me seem boring by comparison."

Roxanne wrinkled her nose. "That's disgusting , Vic."

"So I take it you're not going to volunteer for the job?" I said, giggling.

She snorted. "There's no way in hell."

I glanced up at the teacher's table. "I think Professor Grimsdyke would be happy to impregnate you. He's totally checking you out right now."

Rox makes a gagging noise. "Eww. He's like 45. And he looks like a beaver."

I nearly choked on my toast from laughing so hard. "Wow," I said. "I feel a lot better now."

"Yeah nothing like discussing being knocked up by pervy old teachers to brighten a day," said Rox sarcastically.

"That's my philosophy, yes."

"Speaking of brightening a day, did you see that next Saturday is the first Hogsmeade trip?" Rox asked.

"Really?" I asked excitedly. "I should owl Teddy and tell him to some visit me."

The day really did seem brighter.

* * *

><p><em>Please review!<em>


	6. Chapter 6

The next Friday I was sitting in Charms class tapping my quill and staring at my watch. It was my last class of the day and I desperately wanted it to end.

The worst thing about Roxanne being a year younger than me was that we had absolutely no classes together. Consequently I was sitting by her brother Fred instead. Our friends Grace and Aidan were sitting in front of us.

Professor Grimsdyke, who had taken over as the Charms professor when Flitwick had become headmaster had ordered us to read out of our textbooks and had promptly left the classroom. So, of course, no one was reading.

Fred turned away from the conversation he was having with Aidan and Grace and looked at me. "You're certainty acting impatient," he commented.

"It's Friday," I replied. "I want to get out of here."

"I would expect you're also pretty excited for tomorrow's Hogsmeade trip," he said. "And a certain someone, perhaps," he added, waggling his eyebrows.

Aidan turned around in his seat. "Oohh, Teddy Lupin. He's sooo dreamy," he said in a high-pitched voice.

I giggled. "I do not sound like that."

"You do a little," he replied, grinning.

"I do not," I argued. "Grace, help me out here."

Grace turned around, tossing her long strawberry- blonde hair over her shoulder. She was possibly the nicest girl in the entire school and everyone knew Aidan was madly in love with her. Too bad she had always just considered him a good friend.

"Boys," she said. "Leave poor Victoire alone."

Of course they ignored her and to my utter horror began to make loud, exaggerated kiss noises. The entire classroom turned to stare at us. I buried my face in my hands.

"Oh, Teddy. You're sooo handsome. I love you!" said Fred in a stupid girly voice.

"Hold me! Kiss me!" added Aidan, laughing hysterically.

"Oh god," I moaned.

Grace looked at me sympathetically. "I got this," she told me.

"Fred! Aidan! I didn't know you two were so in love with Teddy Lupin. I must have missed when you came out of the closet," she said loudly. The entire room burst into laughter.

They both shut up.

I laughed. "Wow, Grace. That was uncharacteristically mean for you."

"Well, sometimes being nice can get boring. You gotta spice things up every once in a while, you know?"

I nodded. "Yeah, but just be sure that you don't spice them up to much," I said, gesturing to my stomach.

"Yeah, I think I'll just stick to being mean to those two," she said, nodding at Fred and Aidan, who were busy laughing at an inappropriate joke Fred had told.

"Well if you change your mind, I'm sure Aidan would be happy to help you out with that," I said, lowering my voice.

"Vic!" she hissed, smacking my arm. "We're just friends."

"Well, why don't you ever give being more than friends a shot? He's funny and pretty good-looking. Plus he loves you a lot," I whispered.

She sighed. "I know. It's just… I've always thought of him as a brother, you know?"

"Yeah I get that. But, you know, I used to think of Teddy as a brother. And well… now I definitely don't. Sometimes things change."

"Yeah," she said. "But that doesn't mean they always do."

I opened my mouth to reply, but at that moment Grimsdyke came hurrying back into the classroom and everyone quieted down immediately.

"Well," he said. "I trust you've all had plenty of time to complete the assigned reading. Miss Bell, why don't you sum up what you read?" He smiled at her, exposing his disgusting teeth.

Grace turned red. "Err," she began, "it was about a charm."

"What kind of charm, Miss Bell?"

"Erm," she said, stalling, "well…"

Suddenly a loud crashing sound echoed from across the room. An entire bookcase had fallen. Grimsdyke promptly forgot about Grace and hurried over to assess the damage.

I glanced at Aidan who was tucking his wand into is robe with a grin on his face. He leaned over towards Grace. "You're welcome," he said with a wink.

"You did that?" she whispered.

"Only for you, m'dear," he replied, tipping an invisible hat.

"I had everything under control."

"Sure you did. You weren't even able to name the spell, let alone summarize the reading."

"Fine," she said. "Thank you, Aidan, for once again wreaking havoc."

"Wreaking havoc to save your butt," he added.

She giggled. "Yeah, yeah, thanks."

He shot her his most charming smile. "You're welcome."

Grimsdyke came hurrying back to the front of the room. "Now Miss Bell, why don't you continue where you left off?"

The bell rang.

"On Monday, be ready to explain that charm to me," he shouted after Grace's retreating figure.

"I will, Professor," she called over her shoulder.

I started toward the door.

"Oh, Miss Weasley, may I speak to you for a moment?" Grimsdyke called after me.

I grimaced and turned around slowly. "Yes, Professor?"

"I've been meaning to ask you, how's your little _situation_ going?" He leered at me.

"Fine," I mumbled, my stomach growling. Why wouldn't he let me leave? Dinner, I needed dinner.

"Good, good," he said. "So are the rumors I've been hearing true? Are you really dating Teddy Lupin?"

In my head I was shouting_, That's none of your business, you slimy creep! _But out loud I said, "Yes, Professor."

"And is that his?" he asked, nodding at my stomach.

This man certainly knew how to pry, didn't he?

"Nope," I said, shaking my head.

He squinted at me with his dark, beady eyes. "I see."

In his head he was probably calling me a slut. Whatever, at least I wasn't a pervy, middle-aged beaver-man.

"Well that's good that it isn't his, I suppose," he added.

"And how do you figure that?"

"Teddy's a brilliant boy. I'd be a shame for him to have to give up his dreams to help raise a child."

My mind flashed to Colin and his utter horror at the idea of having to give up his musical career for our baby. I guess my baby just wasn't as important as everybody else's dreams.

"I have to get to dinner, Professor," I said suddenly, not wanting to spend one more minute with him.

"Ah, yes. Eating for two now. Well off you go then, Miss Weasley."

I nearly sprinted out the door. All the way to the Great Hall, I wished that I'd had the nerve to tell him off. If Rox had been there, she would have put him in his place. He'd never ask such personal questions again. Scary girl, that Roxanne Weasley.

By the time I reached the Great Hall, I was fuming.

"What's wrong?"asked Roxanne, as I sat down next to her, Aidan, and Fred.

"Grimsdyke was being a major creep." I looked around. "Where's Grace?"

Everyone shrugged.

"What was Grymsdyke doing?" Rox asked.

"Oh just asking me a bunch of personal questions. Like if Teddy is the father. Then when I said no, he had the nerve to say that that's good because Teddy shouldn't have to give up his dreams to help raise a kid."

Rox shook her head. "He's a pig."

Before I could respond, Grace came walking in, looking extremely pleased about something. The rest of stared at her as she sat down. She was practically glowing. Seriously, nobody should be that happy.

"What happened to you?" I asked.

"Mmm…" she murmured, staring at the Ravenclaw table.

I glance over at where she's looking. It appeared to be a group of seventh year Ravenclaw boys.

"Alright, who is he?"

"What do you mean?" she asked innocently.

"Who's the guy you're staring at?"

Aidan looked up from his food.

"I'm not staring at anyone," she replied.

"I just saw you, Grace. You were looking over at those Ravenclaw guys. So which one was it?"

"Yes, Grace," Aidan said. "Which one was it? We're all dying to know." He was trying to use a teasing voice, but mostly he just sounded angry.

"Matthew Davies," she mumbled in reply, looking embarrassed. "He just asked me to go to Hogsmeade with him tomorrow."

"Kind of late to ask you, don't you think?" said Aidan. "I mean, it almost sounds like you were a last resort or something."

"For your information, Aidan, he told me that he's been trying to ask me all week, but he only now worked up the courage!" Grace snapped. "You could try being happy for me, you know. You're supposed to be my friend!"

I'd never seen her that angry before. Or him for that matter.

"Yeah that's all I'll ever be, isn't it?" he shouted, glaring at her. "Your friend!"

"Well right now, I'm not even sure about that anymore," she replied, tears filling her eyes. "I'm not hungry anymore," she added, standing up. And with that she spun on her heals and ran towards the door.

The rest of us watched as Matthew Davies got up and followed her. He caught up to her right outside the entrance and pulled her into his arms, comforting her.

"Excuse me," said Aidan, standing up. "I'm going to go murder Davies."

Fred grabbed his sleeve and yanked him back down. "No you're not, mate."

"Why shouldn't I?" he demanded.

"Because you don't own her," Rox answered. "She's allowed to date whoever the hell she wants."

Aidan crossed his arms and pouted. He looked like my little brother Louis when Mum tells him to finish his vegetables or he doesn't get desert. Except Louis was eleven and made it looked cute. Aidan, not so much.

"But what does she see in Matthew Davies?" he asked in disgust.

"He's hot," replied Roxanne matter-of-factly.

"And amazing at Quidditch," I added.

"He's pretty smart," said Rox.

"Those eyes of his are to die for," I said.

"He's super nice. I heard he volunteers at an animal shelter and a nursing home during the summer," added Rox.

"Hell," Fred chimed in. "if I made a list of guys I'd go gay for, Matthew Davies would be number two, right after Teddy Lupin."

"Yeah, honestly Aidan, there's probably no way in hell you can compete with him," I said.

"Wow, thanks guys. You're support is overwhelming."

"That's what friends are for," said Fred, clapping on the shoulder.

"I just really thought she was starting to come around," said Aidan with a sigh.

"Cheer up," Rox told him. "You get to hang out with me tomorrow. Fred will be with his girlfriend, Vic will be with Teddy, and Grace will be with Matthew. So it's just me and you."

"Great," said Aidan. "Just great."

* * *

><p><em>So this chapter focused a lot on Aidan and Grace. I didn't mean for that to happen, it kind of just did. I'm planning on the next chapter being mostly Teddy and Vic, though. <em>

_Anyway, thanks for reading. Don't forget to review!_


	7. Chapter 7

The next day I was jittery all through breakfast.

"Merlin!" Aidan snapped. "Sit still, Vic."

He was still in a bad mood.

"Shut up, Aidan," Rox said. "She's excited to see Teddy. Leave her alone."

"Do I look alright?" I asked Rox nervously. I was wearing a black skirt with gray tights and a white sweater. "Or do I look fat?"

"You don't look fat, Vic," Roxanne reassured me. "You haven't started showing yet. You're only 11 weeks."

"I don't believe you, I've definitely gotten fatter."

"Well it's not visible under your sweater, so stop worrying about it."

"So I look alright?" I asked again. "You like the outfit?"

"Yes, Vic, I like the outfit. It's cute."

"Why are you so worried about what you're wearing anyway?" asked Aidan. "Do you really plan on keeping your clothes on that long?"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I snapped.

"Well obviously you took your clothes off pretty easily for Colin, so why not Teddy?"

"I've only been dating Teddy for a few weeks. I haven't even seen him since September 1st. Do you really think I'm the kind of girl who shags a guy after dating him for a few weeks?"

He shrugged. "I don't know, maybe."

Fred, who had been mostly quiet the entire meal, suddenly spoke up. "Oy, Aidan! You're my best mate and everything, but you ever talk about my cousin like that again and I might end up in Azkaban for murder."

"Seriously, Aidan, we're all sorry about Grace and Matthew, okay? But stop being such an arsehole," Roxanne added.

He sighed heavily. "I'm sorry, Vic," he said. "You have every right to slap me."

"That's a tempting offer," I replied. "But I'll let you off this time. Say something like that again though…"

"I won't, I swear."

"Good." I smiled.

An hour later, Rox, Aidan, and I were heading to Hogsmeade. Grace was already with Matthew and Fred was already with his girlfriend, Camille.

We stopped in front of the Three Broomsticks, where Teddy was meeting me. "Well, see you later," I said, waving at them.

"Have fun," said Rox. She gave me a hug and then she and Aidan were off to Honeydukes.

I stepped inside the pub and looked around.

"Victoire, over here!" I heard a voice call. I looked over and saw Teddy sitting at a small table in the corner. I felt a huge grin spread across my face as I approached him. Merlin, I'd missed him.

I slid into the seat across from him. "Hey."

"Hey, yourself," he said, smiling. Today his hair was a short and a dirty blond color and his eyes were light blue. "Miss me?"

"Yes," I replied. "Did you miss me?"

He smirked. "Maybe a little."

I smacked his arm.

"Okay, maybe more than a little," he said, laughing.

"So," I said, taking a sip of the water he'd already ordered for me, no butterbeer for the pregnant girl. "How's life?"

He shrugged. "Well, not much. My job is torture. My boss is an arsehole."

I laughed. "Teddy, your boss is my uncle Percy."

"Exactly."

After our run-in with Percy at the King's Cross, Teddy had gotten a job in the Department of Magical Transportation, specifically the Broom Regulatory Control.

He'd only been working there for a couple weeks, but already nearly all his letters were filled with complaints about the job and about Percy.

"He's a merciless slave driver, Vic. I'm not even exaggerating."

I rolled my eyes. "Of course you're not."

"So what about you?" he asked. "How's your life going?"

"Oh, it's wonderful," I said sarcastically. "There's nothing better than being a pregnant teenager. The people staring at me and whispering, the idiot Slytherins calling me a slut to your face, the morning sickness, the annoying food cravings, and of course the knowledge that it's all going to get worse and that I'm eventually going to have to _give birth and then raise a child_."

He stared at me, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging slightly open.

"You know," he said, "my job suddenly doesn't seem so terrible."

"Glad I could put your life into perspective," I replied with a smirk.

He grinned and downed the rest of his butterbeer.

"You're flaunting that," I told him.

"I'm flaunting what?" he asked.

"Your butterbeer. You know I'm not allowed to have any and you're rubbing it in my face. If you were a good boyfriend, you'd drink water like I am."

He raised an eyebrow at me. "You know what sounds good right now? Firewhiskey. I think I'll get some."

I glared at him as he signaled the waiter and ordered a glass.

"Mmm," he said, taking a large gulp. "That really hits the spot." He looked pointedly at the glass sitting in front of me. "Although I'm sure your water is good too," he said, smirking.

"I hate you."

He leaned across the table, so that his face was nearly touching mine.

"No you don't," he whispered.

"Eww," I said, pulling away. "Your breath smells like alcohol."

He pulled out his wand and performed a quick breath freshening charm. Leaning in again, he whispered, "Better?"

I nodded.

"Now admit you don't hate me, even if I am flaunting my drinks."

"I don't hate you," I mumbled.

"What was that? I can't hear you."

"I don't hate you," I said, louder this time. Several people turned to look at us. I felt my face turn red.

"You sure?" he asked, that stupid smirk still in place.

"Yes I'm sure," I snapped.

"So then, how _do_ you feel about me?"

"I love you," I murmured.

"Sorry, can you repeat that? I didn't quite catch it."

"I love you, you git!" I nearly shouted.

This time, nearly everyone in the pub was staring at us.

I buried my face in my hands.

"Come on," I heard Teddy say. "Let's get outta here."

"And go where?" I asked, lifting my head

"You'll see," he said, standing up and holding out his hand. I took it and he pulled me to my feet.

Keeping my hand firmly in his, he led me out of the pub.

He pulled me down a few side streets until we came to an abandoned building. There was nobody in sight.

"What are we doing here?" I asked.

Instead of answering, he backed me up against the building and kissed me. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer to me.

After a few minutes we pulled apart, breathing heavily.

"Ah, that's what we're doing here," I said.

"I've been waiting to do that for weeks," he murmured, his hands still resting on my hips.

"Me too," I replied. He grinned and leaned in again, pressing his lips against mine once more.

I felt him move his hand down towards the hem of my skirt; he fiddled with it for a minute before slipping his hand underneath. Then it slowly began to creep up my leg…

I pushed him away. "Stop."

"Crap, I'm sorry, Vic." He leaned with his back against the wall and turned his head sideways to look at me. "I just got caught up in the moment."

"It's okay," I said.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah… I guess I'm just worried that you think that because I'm pregnant I'm gonna be an easy lay or something." The words tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop them.

He frowned. "Of course I don't think that."

"Yeah, it was a stupid worry." I took his hand and gave it a squeeze. "Come on," I said. "Let's go to Honeydukes. I want some candy."

He didn't move. "Victoire, wait."

"What?"

"I need you to understand that I'm not trying to take advantage of you in any way. However slow you want to take this relationship is fine with me, as long as I get to be with you. I love you, Vic."

I felt my breath hitch in my throat. "Really?"

"Of course."

A smile spread across my face. I felt like I could just stand there, staring into his eyes for the rest of the day. Well I could if I hadn't been desperately craving some Cauldron Cakes.

"Er," I said, "not to ruin the moment, but I really do want to go to Honeydukes."

"Alright, then," he said. "Let's go."

We spent the next hour in Honeydukes, buying candy and chatting with people.

After we had both eaten enough candy to possibly feed a small village, we stumbled out of the shop, laughing hysterically.

"Remind me to never eat that much candy again," I said, gasping for breath and clutching his arm for support.

He opened his mouth to respond when a loud, high-pitched voice interrupted.

"Teddy? Ohmigod, it's you!"

We both turned around and came face to face with a tall, tan, raven-haired girl who I did not recognize.

"Maria!" Teddy exclaimed. "Wow, it's great to see you!"

I raised my eyebrows. Oh, it was great, was it?

And then the girl, who I decided in that moment to refer to as "That Slag"_,_ threw her arms around _my boyfriend's_ neck.

And worse, _my boyfriend_ wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her back.

I cleared my throat loudly.

Teddy quickly untangled himself from That Slag's grip and grabbed my hand.

"Maria, this is my girlfriend, Victoire. Vic, this is Maria."

That Slag, err…I mean, _Maria_, smiled at me. "It's sooo nice to meet you," she cooed.

I tried to smile back, but failed miserably. "Yeah, nice to meet you too," I said through gritted teeth.

"So, how long have you two been together?" she asked, oblivious to the daggers I was shooting at her with my eyes.

"A little over a month," replied Teddy.

"Oh, well isn't that wonderful," she said. "You make an adorable couple." She glanced down at her watch. "Ohmigod," she exclaimed. "I'm late for something!"

Then That Slag leaned in and planted a kiss on _my boyfriend's_ cheek.

I briefly wondered if clawing out her eyeballs with my bare hands would be an overreaction.

"Hopefully I'll see you around," she whispered in his ear.

_Hopefully you fall off a cliff_, I thought to myself.

Then to my utter horror, _my boyfriend _winked at her and replied, "Yeah, hopefully."

Then That Slag turned and strutted away, leaving behind only the stench of cheap perfume.

As soon as she was out of sight, I turned to Teddy. "What the hell was that?"

"What was what?" he asked, confused.

"Why were you flirting with that girl?"

"I wasn't flirting with her. I was just being friendly."

"Umm, no. Being friendly with someone is saying hi, and then maybe chatting about the weather for a few minutes while standing at least a couple feet away from them. Being friendly is not letting some random girl throw herself all over you and kiss you and then winking at her, all in front of your girlfriend. That's flirting."

He looked stunned. "Look, Vic, that's just how I am with everybody. I'm just a friendly guy, okay? It's not flirting."

"Who was that girl anyway?"

"Just a girl I dated for a little while last year."

"She's your ex?" Wow, that made it even better!

"Yes, Victoire, she's my _ex, _meaning we're no longer together and I have no interest in her."

I sighed. "I'm tired," I said. "I think I'm gonna head back to the castle."

"Alright," he said, leaning in and kissing my forehead. "Write to me soon?"

"Yeah, sure," I said as I turned to walk away.

"I love you," he called after me.

I glanced back over my shoulder at him. He was standing in the middle of the road all alone, looking sadder than I'd seen him look in a long time.

"I love you too," I said.

His expression immediately brightened and he shot me his most dazzling smile. I felt my anger towards him melt away.

Why did Teddy Lupin have to be so damn charming?

* * *

><p><em>I hope you liked this chapter. Please leave me a review!<em>


	8. Chapter 8

The weeks passed by slowly but surely. I spent most of my days going to class and then doing the piles of homework the teachers assigned. In between I hung out with my friends, wrote to Teddy, and went to see Madame Pomfrey.

One day in mid December, when I was about 5 months pregnant, she asked me if I would like to know the baby's gender.

"All you have to do is drink this potion," she said, holding out a bottle of mysterious green liquid. "I could have given it to you earlier, but 5 months is when the results are pretty much 100% accurate.

"Erm, okay," I said, taking the potion from her. Up until that moment I honestly hadn't considered the gender of the baby. It was just an "it." But suddenly I was very curious. Which did I want? A boy or a girl? Was one easier to take care of?

I uncapped the bottle and swallowed the liquid. "Yuck," I said, gagging slightly.

"Well what did you expect? Pumpkin juice? Now lie down"

When I did, she lifted up my shirt and waved her wand over my baby bump. It immediately began glowing pink. I gasped.

"Congratulations, Miss Weasley. It's a girl."

I stared at my pink stomach, watching the color slowly fade away. "Wow," was all I could manage.

I was having a baby girl.

"I better go tell everyone," I said eventually, standing up. "Thank you."

"It was no problem at all, dear," she replied, sounding unusually kind.

I hurried back to my common room to write to my parents. On the way there I passed Fred and Aidan. "Guess what?" I shouted at them. "It's a girl!"

"No way!" exclaimed Fred. "That's great!"

"Congrats, Vic," Aidan said, grinning.

Upon arriving in my common room, I hurried up to my dormitory to grab some parchment, ink, and a quill and then hurried back down and sat at the nearest table and began to write.

_Dear Mum and Dad,_

_I'm having a girl! Madame Pomfrey just told me. Feel free to spread the news around to all our relatives. I'd write to them myself, but I'd run out of parchment. Anyway, it' almost dinnertime and I' starving. I'll write to you soon._

_Lots of love, _

_Victoire_

I hastily scribbled a letter to Teddy as well, and after a trip to the owlery to send them, I headed to dinner.

I found Fred, Aidan, Grace, and Rox already eating.

"Victoire!" Rox shrieked when I sat down. "Fred and Aidan told us the news. Congratulations!"

"Yeah, congratulations," echoed Grace, smiling.

"Thanks."

Rox, Grace, and I were discussing baby girl names, when we heard Aidan, who was talking to Fred, loudly ask him, "Guess who I shagged last night?"

Grace was still dating Matthew Davies and things were going great for them. Of course, Aidan was not happy with this, and apparently his idea of revenge was dating (and shagging) every girl in sight. I think that he hoped it would make Grace jealous and she would dump Matthew and come running into his arms. So far, that had not happened. Nor did it seem likely.

I watched as Grace gripped her fork tightly and stared at her plate with extreme focus.

Fred rolled his eyes. "Who?"

"Bridget McCutcheon."

Fred stared at him. "You're gonna get AIDs."

"Seriously, Aidan. It's getting gross," said Rox.

"Whatever, it's my life. I can do what I want."

"I have to go meet Matthew to help him with his Transfiguration essay," said Grace suddenly, standing up. "I'll see you guys later."

"Bye, Grace," Aidan called to her retreating figure. "Have fun with _your boyfriend_."

"Don't worry. I will," she responded.

Aidan angrily attacked his chicken with his fork. "Do you think anyone would notice if I poisoned Davies?" he growled.

"Mate, they've been together almost two months. You need to get over it," Fred told him.

"Yeah, whatever," he said, standing up. "I'm gonna go do homework, you coming?"

"Sure."

They both turned to leave.

"Congrats again on the news, Vic," Aidan said. Then they were gone and it was only Rox and me.

A few minutes later, Beth Clarke, the biggest gossip in school, came hurrying over.

"Did you two hear the news?" she asked excitedly.

I shook my head, as I took a sip of water.

"What news?" asked Rox.

"Grimsdyke got a student pregnant!"

I choked on my water.

Rox let out a howl of laughter. "Oh my God! It actually happened."

"A student actually had sex with him? Who?" I asked.

"Bridget McCutcheon," Beth replied.

"Bridget McCutcheon? Wasn't that the girl Aidan was just talking about? His newest conquest?" asked Rox.

"Yeah it is," I replied. "Eww, that's disgusting. He shagged a girl who's shagged Grimsdyke."

"Can you imagine even letting him touch you?" asked Beth. "Let alone letting him shag you?"

I shivered slightly. "The mental pictures in my mind right now are going to scar me for life."

"At least we won't have to deal with him anymore. I assume they fired him?" said Rox, looking to Beth for confirmation.

"He's probably packing his bags right now," she said, nodding.

"I wanna go say goodbye to him," I said, standing up. "And by 'say goodbye' I mean totally taunt him for this."

Rox stood up. "You wanna come too?" she asked Beth.

"Sure," she said. "I'm still mad at him for giving me an F on my last essay."

The three of us found him in his office, hastily stuffing things in his trunk.

"Hello, Professor," I said.

He jumped at the sound of my voice, turning around so quickly that he knocked a stack of papers off his desk.

"Oh, hello ladies," he said. "What… what are you doing in here?"

"We heard about you leaving," Rox replied. "We came to say goodbye."

"Oh," he said, nervously. "Er, did… did you… happen to hear _why _I was leaving?"

"Of course we did, Professor. This is Beth Clarke we're talking about here. Do you think she wouldn't know all the details," I asked him. Beside me, Beth smiled proudly.

"Right, right. Of course she would."

"So Bridget McCutcheon, huh?" I continued. "Wow. Couldn't you find a woman your own age?"

He closed his eyes. "I think you three need to leave."

"Why, can't handle the truth?" asked Rox.

"Leave."

"If you insist," I said. "Bye-bye, Professor."

We ran out, giggling.

"That was mean," said Beth, in between laughs.

"He deserved it," I replied. "All he's ever been is a creepy, pervy arsehole."

After saying goodbye to Beth, Rox and I headed back to the Gryffindor common room. After an hour of doing homework, I told Rox that I was going to bed.

"Alright," she said. "Goodnight."

Since it was still pretty early, I assumed no one else would be in the dormitory, but I was wrong. When I got up there, I found Grace lying on her bed.

"Grace! How long have you been up here?"

She shrugged. "An hour, I guess."

"I thought you were meeting Matthew to help him with an essay."

She shook her head. "No, I just made that up to get away from Aidan."

"Ah. That makes sense. He's been extremely obnoxious recently." I sat down on the bed next to her. "So how are things between you and Matthew going?"

"Pretty good," she replied.

"Have you two… you know?" I waggled my eyebrows.

She blushed. "No. He's been talking about it, but I've told him that I'm not ready."

"Well, don't do anything until you're ready. No matter how badly he wants to."

She sighed, lying back on the bed and staring up at the ceiling "How did you know when you were ready with Colin?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. I just did. We didn't plan it or anything. It just happened."

"I wish Aidan was more supportive of our relationship. I miss him. He was one of my best friends in the world, but now we barely speak. We only hang out because we have the same friends."

I patted her arm. "It's okay. He'll get over it eventually and you two will go back to how you were."

"I hope so."

"Speaking of Aidan, did you hear that the girl he was talking about at dinner, Bridget McCutcheon, is pregnant with Grimsdyke's baby?"

Her face scrunched up in disgust. "I think I just threw up in my mouth."

"My reaction exactly."

"I wonder if Aidan knows yet."

I laughed. "I hope not. I want to see the look on his face when he finds out."

She grinned. "That would sure cheer me up. Let's go see if he's in the common room."

We headed back down there and looked around, spotting Aidan and Fred sitting at a table in the corner.

"Hey," I said, as Grace and I sat down next to them.

"Hey," said Fred, not looking up from the essay he was writing. "Please do not engage me in conversation. If I don't finish this essay tonight, I'm screwed."

Aidan however pushed aside his book and looked up. "Hello ladies."

"Did you hear the news about Bridget, Aidan?" Grace asked.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, looking confused.

"She's pregnant."

"Who's the father?" he asked.

"Grimsdyke."

His mouth fell open.

We both giggled. "Gross, isn't it?" I asked.

"Disgusting," he replied.

Suddenly a thought hit me. "What's going to happen to Bridget anyway?"

"What do you mean?" asked Aidan.

"I mean, is she going to stay here? I can't imagine being able to face everyone knowing that your pregnant with a teacher's baby. Being pregnant is bad enough by itself."

Aidan shrugged. "I dunno. She'll probably leave."

"Well then what happens? Are parents going to help support her? How will she get a good job to support herself and a child without finishing school? Will Grimsdyke help support the baby at all?"

"Vic," said Grace calmly. "It's not your problem. She made a mistake and now she's going to have to live with that mistake. Just like you."

"But it's different for me. I didn't get knocked up by a teacher. I'm going to finish school. I have wonderful friends and family who are supporting me."

"Well her mistake was bigger."

"What about Grimsdyke? That worthless arsehole impregnates a student and probably will just run off and hide from _his_ mistake. Why does he get away with it? It's not fair."

"Merlin, Vic, didn't anyone ever tell you that life isn't fair?" asked Aidan.

"I'm going to go find her," I said, standing up.

"Bridget?" asked Grace.

"Yes," I said. "Are you two coming?"

They glanced at each other. "Er, alright," said Grace.

"How are we going to find her?" asked Aidan.

"The Marauder's Map," I replied, looking around. "Where's James?"

* * *

><p><em>Thanks for reading! Don't forget to review!<em>


	9. Chapter 9

I glanced around, finally spotting him on the other side of the room, playing a game of Exploding Snap with a group of second years.

"James, c'mere!" I called, waving him over.

"What?" he asked as he approached.

"I need your map," I told him.

"Why?" he whined.

"I just do."

"Fine," he said, rolling his eyes. "I'll go get it."

Five minutes later, Aidan, Grace, and I were climbing out of the portrait hole, on our way to the empty classroom that Bridget McCutcheon was currently in.

We paused outside of it, looking at each other nervously, before I opened the door and we slowly walked inside.

She was sitting in the corner, legs pulled tightly against her chest, face hidden from view.

She looked up upon hearing us approach, her face streaked with tears.

"What do you want?" she asked hoarsely.

"Erm, we just wanted to see how you were doing?" I replied.

"Why? I barely even know you." She looked at Grace. "Or you."

"You know me!" Adian said.

She lifted an eyebrow. "Please do not remind me."

He looked angry. "Yeah okay. I'm leaving."

"No you're not," I said, grabbing his sleeve and pulling him back. "Bridget needs our support."

She looked at me strangely. "No I don't. Why in the world would I need the support of two girls I barely know and some random loser I slept with last night?"

"Yeah I'm definitely leaving," said Aidan. "I'm going to stand here and let _a girl who_ _got knocked up by a teacher _call _me_ a loser."

"Aidan!" I snapped. "You're not going anywhere."

"Fine," he huffed. "But only for you. Not for her." He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms.

I sat down next to Bridget. She scooted away slightly.

"Bridget," I said. "Please listen to me. I understand what you're going through. We're in the same boat."

"Oh really? Which teacher knocked you up?"

"Erm, okay, not the _same_ boat exactly. But similar boats."

"They're completely different boats!" she snapped. "I slept with a middle-aged teacher and got pregnant. You slept with your boyfriend and got pregnant. See the difference there?"

I sighed, leaning my head back against the wall. Reasoning with her was going to be difficult.

Then, to my surprise, Aidan spoke up. "Well why'd you do it? Grimsdyke? Seriously?"

"I needed an A," she whispered, looking ashamed.

"Merlin," Grace murmured.

To my further shock, Aidan made his way over to us and slid down next to her. He put his hand on her shoulder and she didn't pull away.

"You're better than that, Bridget," he told her.

She shook her head slowly. "No I'm not. I'm worthless. Ask anybody."

"You said ask anybody?" I replied. "Okay I will. Grace, do you think Bridget is worthless?"

"Of course not," she replied.

"Aidan? How about you?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Not at all."

"You're not worthless, Bridget." I said. "None of us think so. You just made a mistake."

"Okay," she said. "Maybe you three don't think I'm worthless, but so what? The people that matter do. My parents owled me today. They told me that I can forget about coming home. They want nothing to do with me. And the school. They said that they can't actually expel me because I'm pregnant, but they did 'highly suggest that I leave.'"

"Bridget…" I began.

"What the hell am I gonna do? Where am I supposed to go?" Tears were falling freely down her face now.

I tried to think of something to day, but nothing was coming to me. I had no idea how to reassure her.

Aidan apparently did though. Seriously, who knew that boy could be so sensitive?

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him, letting her cry into his shoulder. "Shh," he whispered in her ear, stroking her hair. "It's going to be okay. I promise."

She pulled back, wiping her eyes on her sleeves. "I take back what I said," she sniffed. "You're not a loser at all."

I glanced up at Grace, who'd been pretty quiet this whole time. She was staring at Aidan with an expression that could best be described as a mix of astonished, impressed, and lovesick.

The first two I could agree with her about. I was quite astonished at how nice he was being to Bridget her after being so resistant at first. And I was of course impressed with how well he was handling everything.

The lovesick part was interesting to say the least. I had a feeling Matthew Davies would not be happy about the way she was looking at Aidan right now. Not happy at all.

"Vic," said Aidan, interrupting my thoughts. "Isn't there anything we could do to help her?"

I leaned my head back against the wall, trying to think. "Well, obviously it will be difficult for you to pay for a flat without money, so you'll need a job. That shouldn't be too hard. I'm sure there's a shop in Diagon Alley that will hire you. Of course it will take quite a while for you to save up enough money from that, so you'll need a place to stay in the meantime."

"Who in the world would give me a place to stay for free?"

You know that feeling you get when you have what seems to be the perfect idea? It actually feels like a light bulb has lit up above your head. That was the feeling I experienced at that moment.

"Uncle George!"

She looked confused. "What?"

"My uncle George owns Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. He has a spare room above it that nobody uses. I'm sure that he'll let you stay there as long as you work in his shop as well."

"Why would he do that? He doesn't even know me."

"But you're in trouble and he's a nice guy. I'm sure he'll help you out. I'll write to him and ask."

"Okay, let's say that he does say yes," she replied. "What do I do with the baby while I'm working? I won't be able to afford a babysitter or a daycare."

I thought for a moment. "Well I could look after it, I suppose. I'll already have one baby to take care of, so what's another one? People with twins do it all the time."

"I'm pretty sure that will be way to stressful."

"Well it will only be when you're working. And if I'm not feeling up to it, I can have my Grandma, Molly Weasley, look after it. She loves children. She raised seven of them and they all turned out brilliantly."

She shook her head. "I can't ask your family to do these things for me. They don't know me and I don't know them."

"Well then what are you planning on doing, Bridget? Do have another idea?"

"No, but…"

"Then let me write to my uncle and my grandma. If they say that it's okay, please consider it. It won't be forever, just until you can afford rent and a proper daycare."

She nodded slowly. "Alright then, if you insist."

"I do insist," I said, standing up. "Now if you'll excuse us, it's getting late and we don't want to get caught out of bed after hours."

"Thank you," she said. "I don't know why you decided to be so nice to me, but I'm very grateful."

"It was no problem at all," I replied, trying not to cry. "Your baby deserves a good life. And so do you."

Aidan gave her one last hug and stood up. "Bye Bridget," he said, giving her a wave as we made our way to the door.

"Well that was interesting," said Grace, once we had closed the door behind us and began our way back to the common room.

"I hope that Uncle George agrees to give her that job and place to stay," I said. "I'd feel awful if he doesn't."

"I'm sure he will," replied Aidan.

"You were brilliant in there," I told him. "Honestly, I didn't know you could be so nice. It was very impressive. I think Grace would agree with me."

He turned and looked at her, with the longing in his eyes that never seemed to disappear when she was around. "Do you?" he asked softly.

"Oh yes," she murmured, blushing slightly. "You were wonderful."

You could seriously cut the sexual tension between them with a knife.

We reached the common room and climbed inside the portrait hole. The room was still quite crowded, as it was not yet that late, but I felt very exhausted. "I'm going up to bed," I told them. '"Goodnight."

"I'll come too," said Grace. "Goodnight Aidan."

"Goodnight," he replied in a cheerful tone that I'd not heard him use with Grace since Matthew come along.

Upstairs in the dormitory, Grace began humming to herself as we got ready for bed.

"You seem quite happy about something," I commented.

"Do I?"

"Is it perhaps a certain blond boy that you couldn't seem to take your eyes off earlier?"

"Aidan?"

"Yes of course," I said, exasperated. "I saw the way you were looking at him. You're in love with him."

"No I'm not. We've discussed this before."

"Things change," I said, lying down. "Goodnight."

* * *

><p><em>Sorry for the lack of Teddy in these past couple chapters. He'll be in it soon.<em>

_Review please!_


	10. Chapter 10

The following day I wrote to Uncle George about Bridget. He replied to say that she was welcome to work in his shop and stay in the empty room above it, under the condition that she starts paying rent as soon as possible.

A few days later, Bridget left Hogwarts. She thanked me again and then looked around sadly. "Wish I could have graduated," she said wistfully. "I made it through six and a half years and then this happens…" She looked over at me. "You're lucky, you know. Getting to graduate and everything. Don't forget it."

She was right of course. If her situation had taught me anything it was that I was extremely fortunate. I was being given the chance to finish school, which would of course lead to better job opportunities in the future. I had family and friends who were supporting me. I had an amazing boyfriend. The only thing missing was the baby's father.

Colin O'Brian.

It was stupid, but sometimes I still missed him. There would be nights that I would be lying in bed and my mind would drift to him.

I'd remember the times he'd sing me to sleep, his voice low and familiar in my ear, as I lay wrapped in his arms. I'd remember the look he'd give me sometimes. The one that made me feel like I was the most important thing in the world. The center of the universe. I'd remember the way he'd call me "babe" and the way he never wanted to let go of my hand. The way he'd kiss my neck and whisper that he loved me.

But then I'd remember what had happened on the day I'd told him that I was pregnant. The angry look he'd given me and those awful things he'd said. "Slutty girl" and "stupid baby." They flashed through my mind and echoed in my head and all those good memories would vanish. And I would be left feeling miserable and empty.

But then there was Teddy. Wonderful, wonderful Teddy who I was desperately in love with.

I asked Rox if she thought it was possible to be in love with two people at once, but she just looked at me strangely and asked who I loved other than Teddy. And I had been too ashamed to admit that Colin was still plaguing my dreams, both when I was awake and when I was asleep, so I quickly changed the subject.

When Christmas holidays finally arrived, I was extremely relieved. I would be able to spend a lot of time with Teddy and hopefully I would forget about Colin once and for all.

Dom, Louis, and I arrived at King's Cross on December 21st and my dad was waiting there to pick us up in a car he borrowed from work.

"Daddy!" shrieked Dom when she saw him. She took off running in his direction, Louis right on her heels.

By the time I made my way over to them, Dom and Louis were both wrapped in his arms, chattering away about everything that had happened to them at school. My dad looked up when I approached and I suddenly felt very nervous. Neither he nor Mum had seen me actually looking pregnant.

His eyes widened as he stared at my stomach.

"Well, well, well," he said finally. "Look at you."

I stood there awkwardly for a moment, until Louis piped up, "Come join the group hug, Vic!"

So I did.

Dad dropped us off at the house and then headed back to work to catch up on a few things. "Tell your mum I'll be home for dinner," he said.

We got out of the car and headed up to our house. My mum rushed to the door to greet us. "Oh, darlings!" she cooed. "I missed you!"

After Dom and Louis regaled her with tales of encounters with Peeves and particularly exciting games of Quidditch, they headed up to their rooms to unpack.

My mum then turned to me. "Oh my," she said. "Look at 'ow big you've gotten."

I nodded. "Madame Pomfrey told me that everything seems to be right on track."

"Zat's wonderful, darling," she replied. "By ze way," she added, "Teddy and Andromeda are coming for dinner tonight. They should be 'ere any minute."

Teddy! My heart soared. I'd only seen him a few times since that first Hogsmeade trip at various other Hogsmeade trips. I missed him a lot.

There was a knock on the door. "Zat will be them," Mum proclaimed. "Will you be a dear and get the door? I need to check on something in the kitchen."

I pulled open the door and came face to face with Teddy, who standing beside his grandmother.

"Hello Victoire, dear," said Andromeda.

"Hey Andromeda," I replied. I stepped back and allowed them in the door.

My mum appeared and greeted them warmly. Andromeda offered to help her with dinner.

"Dinner won't be ready for a while," Mum told me. "So find something useful to do in ze meantime."

When she and Andromeda had disappeared into the kitchen, I turned to Teddy. "Want to go up to my room and help me unpack?"

He grinned. "Sure," he replied and he followed me upstairs.

Once we were in my room I closed the door and lay down on my bed. "Care to join me?" I asked.

"I thought you were unpacking," he said, making his way over to me and lying down.

"Later," I replied, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him closer.

"Fine by me," he mumbled and he pressed his lips against mine.

It had been two weeks since we'd last snogged and things began heating up fast. Soon his shirt was discarded on the floor and my hands were tracing his wonderful abs. I felt him tug at the hem of my shirt.

"No," I murmured. "I'm starting to get stretch marks. I don't want you to see."

"Don't worry," he replied, pulling off my shirt. He stared at my baby bump for a moment before whispering, "Beautiful," and leaning down to kiss it.

We snogged for a while longer, before my hands made their way to his jeans. I fumbled with the zipper for a moment, before he jerked away and sat up.

"We have to stop," he said, panting slightly.

"Why?" I moaned.

"Because we can't have sex here," he replied.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Because your mum and my grandma are right downstairs and your little brother and sister are right down the hall."

I rolled onto my back and pouted. "I locked the door."

"You think that a locked door will somehow stump your mum, a fully qualified witch?"

I knew he was right, but for some reason I was still annoyed. "I bet you never stopped _Maria _when she wanted to have sex."

"I would have if her family had been right downstairs," he replied.

"Did you prefer her company to mine?"

He shook his head. "That's the dumbest thing you've ever asked me, Vic. You know how much I love you. Of course I prefer your company to Maria's."

I pulled my shirt back on, and then I lay back down and closed my eyes. "I think I'm going to take a nap. Wake me up when dinner's ready."

"Do you want me to leave?" he asked.

"No," I murmured in reply.

"You sure?"

"Yes," I whispered back. "I never want you to leave me."

I felt him lay down beside me. "Okay."

"Do you promise?"

"I promise. I'll always be here for you."

I smiled contentedly and then I drifted off to sleep.

* * *

><p><em>Happy New Year, everyone!<em>

_Thanks for reading. Please review!_


	11. Chapter 11

On Christmas day, my parents, Dom, Louis, and I headed to the Burrow to celebrate with my abnormally large family.

We entered the house and were greeted by the sound of Celestina Warbeck's voice coming from the large wooden wireless in the living room.

Beside me, Mum gritted her teeth. "Every year," she muttered darkly. "Every damn year we 'ave to listen to zis 'orrid woman—"

"Look who's here!"

Mum stopped midsentence. "Molly, dear!" she said, kissing both my grandma's cheeks. "Merry Christmas!"

Grandma greeted everyone else, smothering them in hugs and kisses. When she got to me, she stared at my stomach for a moment, her expression slightly disapproving, But once I let her feel the baby kick, she seemed to warm up. "Oh, it's going so wonderful to have a baby around again! Can you imagine me, a great-grandmother?

She ushered us into the living room, which my nine-year-old cousin Lily had draped in paper chains. There was a tree in the corner that had the ugliest looking angel I had ever seen on top of it.

When I sat down next to Fred, he leaned over and said, "Like the angel? It's actually a gnome. The little bugger bit me earlier, so I taught him a lesson. I thought the tutu and wings were a nice touch."

Uncle George let out a chuckle from his seat a few feet away. "Your uncle Fred did the same thing one year," he said. "Great minds must think alike."

From across the room, Grandma clapped her hands together. "_A Cauldron Full of Hot, Strong Love_!" she exclaimed excitedly. "Arthur, dear, do you remember when we danced to this when we were eighteen?"

I watched my mum roll her eyes.

"Grandma, when do we get to eat?" piped up my little cousin Hugo, "I'm starving!"

"Hush, Hugo," scolded his mother, my aunt Hermione.

"He sounds just like his father," laughed my aunt Ginny. "Always thinking about food."

Grandma glanced around. "Well we seem to only be missing Percy and his lot and Andromeda and Teddy. As soon as they get here we'll eat."

Andromeda and Teddy arrived five minutes later. Teddy greeted me with a wink and a smile, before sitting down across the room. Lily and Rose immediately ran over to him, as they were both madly in love with him, and began giggling over his hair, which he had changed to half-green and half-red for the occasion.

Not long after, Uncle Percy and Aunt Audrey arrived, along with their two daughters, Molly and Lucy.

"Finally!" exclaimed Hugo. "I was about to die. Seriously."

Christmas dinner at the Burrow was always a crowded event, with as many tables as possible crammed into the kitchen and dining room. Soon had everyone settled down at them and dug in.

I listened as Rose complained to Teddy about Scorpius Malfoy. "He's awful, Teddy," she said. "I don't think I've ever met anyone more arrogant in my life."

"Oy, Rosie. Watch how you talk about my best mate!" said Albus.

Albus had been sorted into Slytherin that year, much to everyone's surprise. Only Uncle Harry hadn't seemed shocked at all.

Teddy turned to me. "Vic," he said. "You haven't even touched your food."

I wrinkled my nose. "None of it looks appetizing." I turned around. "Daddy," I called to a nearby table, "will you go get some fish and chips for me from town?"

"Oh no," he replied. "You've been sending me out to get the food you've been craving ever since you got home. You're not interrupting my Christmas dinner too."

I turned to Teddy and gave him my best puppy dog eyes.

"Fine," he said, exasperated. He stood up, staring longingly at his plate of food.

"Thanks, Teddy," I said, smiling. "Oh, and change your hair before you go. You don't want to be seen in public like that."

In a flash, his hair was brown and then he turned on his heel and disappeared.

Twenty minutes later he returned, setting the fish and chips in front of me.

The greasy smell made me want to gag. "Was I really craving this?" I asked, disgusted. I pushed it aside. "Turkey sounds much better," I said, picking up my fork and digging in.

Beside me, Teddy sighed heavily.

"Sorry, Teddy," I said, leaning over to kiss his cheek. "But I can't control these cravings, you know."

"It's alright," he replied. "Anybody want some fish and chips?" he asked loudly, looking around.

"I do," said Hugo from the other end of the table. Teddy pulled out his wand and sent the bag zooming down towards him.

I grabbed Teddy's free hand that was dangling under the table with my own. He smiled at me and we stayed like that, fingers entwined, for the rest of the meal.

After dinner, my aunts took it upon themselves to offer me their own advice and personal anecdotes about pregnancy.

"You should definitely breastfeed," Aunt Audrey told me. "None of this bottle-feeding nonsense."

"You know what I hated most about being pregnant?" asked my aunt Angelina. "Not being able to play Quidditch."

"I recommend you read Elaine Nobb's books on pregnancy and parenting," said Aunt Hermione. "I wouldn't have survived pregnancy without them."

I smiled and nodded until I finally was able to excuse myself.

I found my uncle George, laughing about something with my uncle Charlie and my dad.

"Uncle George," I said, sitting down, "I've been meaning to ask you about Bridget. How is she?"

"She's doing great," he replied. She's a born salesperson. I swear she could sell a radio to a deaf man."

I laughed. "I'm glad to hear that," I said. "Who's she spending Christmas with? She's not alone right now is she?"

"No, I asked her if she'd like to come here, but she told me that she had plans."

At that moment, Rox came running over. "Hey Dad," she said. "You don't mind if I steal Vic from you, do you? We've barely seen each other all night."

He shook his head, dismissing us with a wave us his hand. "Course I don't mind. Just try not to get into too much trouble," he added with a wink.

We went upstairs to escape the crowds of people, where we spent the next few hours looking through drawers and closets and laughing at the funny things we found.

"What's this?" I asked, holding up a thick gold chain, from which the words, "My Sweetheart" dangled.

Rox laughed. "That's hideous."

We found a photo album and began looking through it, marveling at how young everyone used to be. We came to a photo that was labeled "Christmas, 1996."

"Your mum's the only one without one of Grandma's sweaters," laughed Rox, pointing at a very sour-faced Fleur Delacour.

"Grandma really hated her back then," I said, grinning.

I examined the picture more closely. "Look," I said, "Teddy's dad." I pointed at a very disheveled looking man sitting next to my dad.

"And Uncle Fred," said Rox, indicating the laughing boy who was sitting next to her father, the two of them nearly impossible to tell apart.

"Uncle Percy isn't in the picture," I observed. "This must have been when he was fighting with the rest of the family."

We were interrupted by Dom, who had come to tell me that we were leaving.

I said goodbye to everyone, saving Teddy for last. We watched as the rest of my family took their turn stepping into the fireplace, shouting "Shell Cottage", and throwing down the handful of floo powder.

"Bye, Vic," said Teddy, after they disappeared.

"Before I go, I need to tell you something," I said.

"What?"

"Ever since I got home, I've been thinking that I should go see Colin."

His eyebrows shot up. "Why?" he asked.

"I just want to know once and for all if he wants to be part of the baby's life," I said.

"I think he made it perfectly clear what he wants when you told him you were pregnant," said Teddy, looking annoyed.

"But he's had time to think about it. Maybe he's changed his mind."

"He's just going to hurt you again," replied Teddy, sounding almost angry. "Don't go."

"It's not your decision. It's mine!" I snapped.

He took a deep breath. "We need to stop arguing," he said.

I sighed. "You're right."

"I'm sorry for trying to tell you what to do," he said. "I'm just looking out for you."

"I know you are."

He smiled.

"I should go," I said.

He gave me a quick kiss, before whispering, "Promise you won't go see Colin," in my ear.

"I promise," I said, crossing my fingers behind my back.

* * *

><p><em>This was a bit of a filler chapter, but I had fun adding in all the references to the books.<em>

_I've nearly finished writing the next chapter, so I'll probably update soon._

_Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review!_


	12. Chapter 12

A few days later I decided to go see Colin. I knew I was breaking my promise to Teddy and I felt terrible about it, but it was something that I felt I had to do.

Teddy had owled me that morning to tell me that he was coming over after he got off work at six in the evening. So I decided that going to see Colin at four would leave me plenty of time to get back before then, leaving Teddy none the wiser.

I set off for town, knowing that he would be working. When I arrived at the store, I paused outside of, suddenly nervous. I hadn't seen Colin since that night right before the start of school outside the pub. I had no idea what is current feelings about the baby or me were. Or if he even thought of us at all. What if he took one look at me and told me to get the hell out?

I stood there, my feet stuck to the sidewalk, staring at the store. It looked the same as it always did. Peeling green paint, crooked sign, painted words on the windows proclaiming the great deals on milk and other assorted food items.

My mind flashed to the day I met Colin. It had been at this very store.

It was the summer before my fifth year of school and my mum had sent me to pick up something some eggs and a gallon of milk. I walked in and noticed that someone new was working behind the counter. He didn't even look up when the chiming bell on the door signaled my entrance; he was too absorbed with writing something on a piece of paper.

I grabbed what I needed and headed to the counter. When he still didn't look up, I cleared my throat loudly. He put down his pen and finally raised his head.

"Sorry," he said, looking me up and down. "Didn't mean to keep a pretty girl like you waiting."

For some reason, that line worked on me and I smiled at him. "What are you writing?" I asked.

"Song lyrics. I'm in a band."

"Wow," I replied, as if this was the most impressive thing I'd ever heard. "What instrument do you play?"

"Guitar," he said, "but I'm the lead singer as well."

"Wow," I repeated, batting my eyelashes at him. Yes I actually batted my eyelashes. Shameful, isn't it?

"You should come listen to us," he told me. "We have a gig tomorrow night."

"Okay. Maybe I will," I said, not wanting to sound overly eager. On the inside though I was jumping up and down with excitement. A muggle boy was inviting me to a muggle club to hear a muggle band play. As a fifteen year old witch, I thought this was one of the most exciting things that had ever happened to me.

He grinned at me and I noticed how attractive he was. Mainly because of his eyes. They were beautiful. A deep green color with flecks of gold. They stood out against his pale skin, which contrasted sharply with his black hair.

"Great," he said, scribbling something on a piece of paper and handing it to me. "Here's the address of the place."

I took the paper from him. "I'm Victoire, by the way" I said.

"It's nice to meet you, Victoire. I'm Colin."

I went to the club the next night and listened to his band's entire set, and then I made out with Colin in the backseat of his car for an hour.

And now, more than two years later, I was standing in front of the same store where it had all began. Only this time I was pregnant with his baby.

I took a deep breath and pushed open the door.

Colin was standing behind the counter, scribbling furiously on a piece of paper, too absorbed in his lyrics to even look up.

Déjà vu.

I walked over to the counter and cleared my throat to get his attention, just like I had two and a half years before.

He lifted his head, dropping his pen in shock when he saw me.

"Victoire! What… what are you doing here?"

I ignored his question. "You got a haircut," I said instead.

"Yeah," he replied. "Needed a change."

"It looks nice," I told him. And it did. I had never liked his long hair. It always looked too dirty and unkept.

"Thanks," he said, his eyes dropping to my stomach. "Wow, you got fat."

"Gee thanks, Colin," I said, rolling my eyes. "I forgot how eloquent you were."

"I just meant that last time I saw you, you didn't look pregnant at all. And now…"

"And now I do."

"And now you do."

We stood in silence for a few minutes before Colin spoke.

"There's really a baby in there, isn't there? And it's… ours."

"Yeah," I whispered. "It is."

There was another long silence, that Colin was the one to break again. "What are you doing here, Vic?" he asked again.

"I needed to talk to you," I said.

He nodded. "We'll talk when I get off," he said. "Connor should be here to take my place in about 5 minutes."

"Great," I said. I made my way over to the magazine section. Reading about muggle celebrities never failed to amuse me.

The bell chimed, signaling a customer. A heavy-set, middle-aged woman came bustling over to the magazines. She immediately snatched up the nearest copy of _Vogue._

"Oooh," she gushed. "Models are just so stylish."

"And so anorexic," I added.

She glanced over at me, opening her mouth to reply. Then her eyes dropped to my stomach and she let out a loud squeal.

"Ohmigod! You're pregnant! That's so exciting!"

I smiled politely. I didn't even know this woman. How could my pregnancy possibly be that exciting for her?

Up at the counter, Colin snorted loudly.

The woman turned to him, waggling her pudgy finger. "Don't you laugh at my enthusiasm, boy. Babies are a wonderful gift."

"Sorry," Colin mumbled.

"I always wanted a child of my own," the woman continued, "but I guess God had other plans for me and I never had one. So when I see a pregnant woman, I remind her not to take that baby for granted. Because it's a miracle."

"Yes, Colin, don't laugh. Our baby is a miracle," I told him, trying not to laugh myself. "A miracle that would have been nice a few years from now, but still."

The woman's eyes widened. "Do you mean to tell me that he's the father?" she asked.

"Unfortunately."

"Well that's wonderful!" she exclaimed.

I rolled my eyes. This woman was way too happy.

"I suppose so," said Colin.

At that moment, Connor walked in to take over his shift.

"Well it was nice meeting you," I told the woman. "Wish we could stay and chat, but we've got things to do."

I hurried over to the counter and grabbed Colin's hand, pulling him towards the door. "Come on," I hissed in his ear. "I can't take any more of her cheeriness."

"Oooh," I heard her exclaim behind us. "Young love!"

"We're not in love," I shouted as I pulled open the door. We stepped outside and the door closed behind us.

"Where should we go?" Colin asked.

"How 'bout the beach?"

"Okay," he agreed.

We slowly ambled down to the beach, silent the entire time. It was a comfortable silence, though. Not the awkward kind that makes you want to melt into the floor to escape it.

We came to a log and sat down on it.

"This is where you told me you were pregnant," he said.

"Yeah, I guess it is," I said, shivering. "It's so cold."

"Well, it is winter on the coast of England," remarked Colin.

"Believe me, I noticed," I said, pulling my coat tighter around my body.

He pulled out a cigarette and lit it.

I shook my head. "You know I hate that."

"I've been thinking about quitting," he said. "Just haven't gotten around to it."

I drug my foot around in the sand, trying to think of what to say to him.

"So what was it that you wanted to talk about?" he asked interrupting my thoughts.

"I just… I wanted to know if you have any interest at all in being a part of our daughter's life." I stared at the ground, not wanting to look at him, fearing what his answer would be.

"Daughter?"

I slowly lifted my head and looked at him. He was staring right at me with those intense green eyes, as if he could see right into my soul.

"Yeah. The baby's a girl," I replied.

"Wow," he said. "A girl."

I nodded.

He was silent, staring at out at the water and taking long drags of his cigarette.

After a while, he dropped in on the ground, smashing into the sand with his shoe. He turned and looked at me.

"Vic, there's something I need to tell you."

"What?"

He was quiet for a moment, and then he asked, "I never told you about my father, did I?"

"You just said that he wasn't around."

"Well he used to be around. He was an alcoholic and he'd always come home drunk and my mum… she'd be waiting for him with dinner but it'd always be cold coz he was so late. And he'd come home and yell at her and hit her and I'd just hide in the corner hoping he wouldn't come after me. But sometimes he would…"

He trailed off and stared down at his feet.

"Colin…" I said, laying my hand on his arm.

He lifted his head and looked at me. His expression was so sad and so wounded. I wanted to take him in my arms and hold him. I wanted to kiss away his pain, make him forget those terrible memories.

Suddenly my mind flashed to Teddy. My boyfriend. The boy I loved.

Merlin, I was so confused.

"Anyway," he continued. "I promised myself I would never turn into him. But sometimes I'm scared that I am. Every time I get drunk, I end up hating myself for it. But I keep doing it."

"You're not going to turn into your father."

He closed his eyes. "You don't know that."

"Yes I do." I paused. "Colin, why exactly are you telling me this?"

"I was getting to that," he said, opening his eyes, a small smile flickering across his face. "Be patient."

I waited for him to continue.

"When you told me you were pregnant, all I could picture was my dad. My dad beating my mum. My dad beating me. And I just… I just imagined that being me one day and I just couldn't let that happen. I couldn't handle the idea of being a father and allowing that to become a possibility. And so I said those awful things to you. And I'm so sorry about that. But I was so scared, you know?"

"What about the excuse you used with me? About not being able to be a father coz of your band being on the verge of hitting it big."

"Well," he replied. "That wasn't really the reason I was upset, I kinda just used it as an excuse. But my band is really important to me, you know that, Vic. We are gonna get a record deal some day. I know it."

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

"You don't think we can, do you?"

"I just think you need to be realistic, Colin."

He sighed. "But reality sucks."

I laughed. "Yeah, but that doesn't mean you can escape it. You just have to accept it."

"I missed you, Vic," he said suddenly.

I turned and looked at him. "Sometimes I missed you too."

"Sometimes?"

I shrugged. "The last memories I had of you were you being an arsehole and treating me like crap. I wasn't gonna spend hours moping around, missing you, after that.""

"Are you still with that Teddy bloke?"

I nodded.

"I see," he said.

"Speaking of Teddy, I'm meeting him soon. I should go," I said, standing up.

"Wait," he said, grabbing my hand to stop me. "I never answered your question."

"What question?"

"The one about whether I wanted to be a part of the baby's life."

"Oh," I replied nervously. "That question."

"I think I do."

My eyes widened. "Really?"

He nodded.

I felt a grin spread across my face. "Great!"

"Yeah, so… whenever that baby's born, just bring her around, okay?"

"Would you like to be there when she's born?" I asked.

He looked surprised. "You don't want me there."

"Yes I do. You're her father."

"Well alright then."

"Okay, well I'll just be going then," I said.

"Right," he said, standing up. "See you later."

"Er… goodbye," I said, feeling awkward. Should I hug him? Or just leave?

He made the decision for me when he pulled me into his arms. "Bye, Vic," he whispered into my ear.

"Bye, Colin."

* * *

><p><em>Please review!<em>


	13. Chapter 13

I took my time walking back to Shell Cottage. After all, Teddy wasn't supposed to show up for at least another hour.

Arriving back at my house, I opened the door and took a step inside. Almost immediately, my mum appeared.

"Where 'ave you been?" she asked me. "Teddy 'as been 'ere waiting for you for 'alf and 'our."

"Half an hour?" I repeated. "He wasn't supposed to be here until six."

"Change of plans," said Teddy, walking out of the kitchen and into the hallway. "I got off work a little early and thought I'd come surprise you. The only problem was… you weren't here to be surprised."

Mum looked back and forth between the two of us. "Well," she said, "I'll just leave you two to sort zings out for yourselves." She quickly hurried upstairs.

"Where were you?" Teddy asked.

"Nowhere of consequence," I said, trying to get past him. "Could you move? I'm hungry and you're blocking the whole hallway."

"You were obviously somewhere," he said, not budging. "So where was it?"

"None of your business," I shot back. "Move!"

"What exactly are you trying to hide from me?" he asked, crossing his arms and staring me down.

I sighed. "You want the truth? Fine. IwenttoseeColin," I blurted out quickly.

He raised his eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"I went to see Colin."

He frowned. "You went to see Colin," he repeated slowly.

"That's what I said, wasn't it?" I snapped.

"You promised you wouldn't, Victoire," he said. "You fucking promised."

I cringed at his language. He hardly ever cursed. And never at me.

"You don't get to control my life, Teddy!" I shouted. "You're my boyfriend, not my father!"

"I'm not mad that you did something I don't like," he replied. "I'm mad that you broke a promise and went behind my back and then tried to lie to me about it. You could have just told me that you were going to Colin no matter what I said and I wouldn't have stopped you. I would have voiced my disapproval, but I would have let you go."

I pursed my lips together, not sure how to respond.

"How am I supposed to trust you if I know you can't even keep your promises?" he asked.

I stayed quiet.

He glared at me. "What is this? The silent treatment? Really mature, Vic. At least tell me what he said to you."

"He said he wants to be part of the baby's life," I replied stiffly. "And I told him that he could be there when she's born."

"Oh," said Teddy, "so he's finally decided to face his responsibilities. How noble of him."

"It is," I responded angrily. "He doesn't have to, you know."

"Oh yes, he's a real saint," snapped Teddy. "A father bothering to help raise his own kid. Someone give him a medal."

"I don't have to stand here and listen to this," I replied. "Maybe you should leave. We can both cool off a little, and then try discussing this later."

Teddy ignored me. "How could you just forgive him like that?" he asked. "Don't you remember the things he said to you?"

"I remember perfectly well. But he provided a very reasonable explanation and I—"

"A reasonable explanation?" he interrupted. "A reasonable explanation for calling you a slut? A reasonable explanation for calling your baby stupid? A reasonable explanation for putting his band before you and his child."

"Yes."

He laughed darkly. "Really? And what was this explanation?"

"I don't really think I should tell you," I replied. "It involved some very personal information that I think he would want kept confidential."

"You're a real piece of work, Victoire. Did you know that?"

"Excuse me?"

"Personal information that he would want kept confidential? That's such bullshit. He didn't even have an explanation, did he? You're just too ashamed to admit that you forgave him so easily. That you let him back in to your life after all the pain he caused you."

"He did have an explanation, Teddy!" I snarled.

He shook his head. "Do you like being his doormat? Do you like letting him walk all over you?"

"I'm not! I know what I'm doing. He's going to be different this time."

He sighed. "Maybe I _should_ go home and cool down," he said. "Then we can try to discuss this later like adults."

"This isn't working," I said.

"I know it isn't. That's why we're going to try talking later."

"No, I mean this relationship isn't working," I clarified.

"What?"

"All we ever do is argue. We argued about telling my parents about me being pregnant. We argued in Hogsmeade about your ex-girlfriend. We argued about whether we should have sex or not. We argued about Colin on Christmas. And now there's this. We never argued when we were just friends."

"Victoire," he said, "couples argue. It's okay. We always forgive each other."

I shook my head. "But I'm sick of it," I said. "I just wish we were back to how we were before. It was so much easier."

"Relationships aren't supposed to be easy, Vic," he replied.

"But I have enough problems right now. I'm pregnant and I don't want to deal with this anymore."

"So you want us to just be friends again?" he asked coolly.

"Yes," I replied.

He nodded. "Alright then," he said, his face blank. "I'll be going then."

"You're not going to stay for supper?"

"Victoire, we just broke up. Of course I'm not going to stay for supper."

"But we're friends," I murmured.

"That might take a little getting used to," he said. "Goodbye, Victoire." Then with a loud crack he was gone.

I felt the tears welling up in my eyes as I leaned back against the wall and slowly slid into a sitting position. What the hell had I just done? I hadn't even considered breaking up with him until that moment, but suddenly it had seemed so right. But now it seemed so wrong… and so completely stupid. I let out a loud sob.

"Victoire, sweetie," I heard my mum say from above me.

I looked up at her through the tears in my eyes. "What?"

"You need to go lie down on your bed," said calmly. "And I'll make you some tea."

"I'm fine here," I replied, wiping my eyes on my sleeve.

"No you're not." she said, holding out her hand. "Come on."

I reached out and took it, allowing her to pull me up.

"Come on," she said again, handing me her hankie and putting her arm around my shoulder.

When we got to my room, I flopped down on my bed. Mum pulled off my shoes and pulled the covers over me, like I was a little kid again.

"I can make you some tea and we can talk or you can just sleep," she told me.

I closed my eyes. "I think I'll just sleep," I said, yawning.

"Okay," she said, leaning down and kissing my forehead. "It's going to be fine, darling."

"I love you, Mummy."

"I love you too, Victoire," she replied, turning off the light and closing the door behind her.

* * *

><p><em>Please don't kill me for having them break up. Stories need conflict.<em>

_Anyway, don't forget to review!_


	14. Chapter 14

The rest of my break, to put it simply, was crap.

I had to spend the last few days of my Christmas holidays enduring pitying looks from my family. I desperately wanted to talk to Roxanne, but she was in America visiting some family.

Finally, though, I did return to school. Rox and I sat in our own compartment on the train and I told her the entire story.

"Has Teddy contacted you at all since you broke up?" she asked.

I shook my head. "I don't think he's that interested in just being friends again."

As we were walking back to the Gryffindor common room upon arriving back at school, we heard someone call our names.

We both turned around and saw Grace running towards us.

She stopped, panting slightly and looking around, as if to make sure nobody else was around.

"I need to tell you something," she said, her voice low.

"What?" asked Rox.

"I slept with Aidan," she whispered.

My mouth dropped open. "What about Matthew?"

"We broke up a few days after Christmas—"

"So did Teddy and I," I interjected.

She looked shocked.

"I'll explain later," I said, with a wave of my hand. "Go on."

"Well, he dumped me because he said our relationship was 'moving too slowly' which I think basically meant that he was annoyed that we weren't shagging. And I was so upset that I went to see Aidan. And he was comforting me and being so nice, so I kissed him. Then we just sort of… kept going."

"Wow," I said. "What happened afterwards?"

"I left before he woke up. And I haven't spoken to him since."

I frowned. "Why not?"

"Because you know how many girls he's been with recently. What if I'm just one of the many?"

"Are you kidding?" I asked. "Aidan loves you. He adores you. He pretty much worships the ground you walk on."

She glanced past me, down the corridor. "Crap, he's coming. I gotta go. Don't tell him you saw me!" She quickly darted around a corner and disappeared.

A moment later, Aidan approached us.

"Hello ladies," he said. "How were your holidays?"

"Good," we chorused. Total lie on my part, of course.

"Have you seen Grace, by chance?"

We shook our heads.

"Alright, I'll keep looking then," he said and walked away.

I turned to Rox once he had disappeared and noticed the very annoyed expression on her face.

"What's wrong," I asked.

"I'm the only virgin left," she murmured.

I had no idea what she was on about. "Do you mean in the entire UK or just in Hogwarts?" I asked sarcastically.

"I mean out of all my friends," she replied. "Obviously you're not a virgin. Neither is my brother or Aidan or most of my sixth year friends. And now Grace isn't either. I feel left out."

"Rox, it's not a big deal. You've only just turned 17. Don't rush into giving it up. Wait until you're sure you've found the one."

"Oh, so Colin was the one?" she asked.

"Well no, but I thought he was."

"Oh, so you don't have to wait for the one? You just have to wait for who _think_ is the one?" She pointed at a fifth year Hufflepuff who was passing by. "So what if I said that I think he's the one? Does that mean I should sleep with him?"

The boy slowed down, a hopeful expression on his face.

"Move along!" Rox snapped.

His expression quickly turned to pure terror and he hurried off.

Have I mentioned how scary Roxanne Weasley can be?

"Rox," I said, "I made a mistake, but I'm trying to stop you from making the same one. Wait until you're absolutely sure."

"What about Teddy? Have you shagged him?" she asked.

"No, I almost did, but he stopped me."

"Is he the one?"

I shrugged "I don't know."

"But you were going to shag him as well?"

I nodded.

"You're such a hypocrite!" she snapped. "You're telling_ me_ to learn from your mistakes, but _you_ haven't even learned from them."

"Rox," I replied, "I'm human. I make mistakes, okay? I don't understand why you're so angry."

"You think you can just stand there and offer advice about 'waiting for the one'? You're 17 years old and you're pregnant! Merlin's beard, Vic. You're a real piece of work."

That was the second time somebody had called me a piece of work that week. I was starting to believe it.

She turned and hurried away.

I stood there, stunned. Rox and I never fought. Ever. Suddenly I felt sick to my stomach. Had I really managed to lose my boyfriend and my best friend in the same week?

I felt my baby stirring inside me. "You're never going to leave me, are you?" I whispered. "Coz I don't think I can handle losing anyone else I love."

I realized that was the first time I had said that I loved the baby out loud. Or even thought it at all. But I supposed it was true. She was mine and no matter how much trouble she was causing me, I couldn't help but love her. I wondered if Colin would love her too.

At dinnertime, I walked into the Great Hall and looked down the Gryffindor table. Fred and Aidan were sitting with the three other seventh year Gryffindor boys. Rox was sitting with some of her sixth year friends. And Grace was sitting alone.

I slid in across from her.

She looked up and smiled. "Hey," she said. "What's going on with Rox? Why isn't she sitting with us?"

"She's mad at me," I replied. "I don't want to talk about it right now."

"Do you want to talk about what happened with you and Teddy?" she asked.

I told her the story.

She patted my arm sympathetically. "At least Colin's agreed to be part of the baby's life. That's something. And I'm sure Teddy will be your friend again. He just needs time."

"Speaking of time," I said, "don't you think you've spent enough time ignoring Aidan? You should talk to him."

"I'm scared," she whispered.

"He's not going to hurt you Grace. I've told you a million times that he loves you."

"The people that love us can still hurt us. Colin hurt you. Teddy hurt you."

"But that doesn't mean you should push everyone who loves you away. Coz sometimes they don't hurt you. Sometimes, as corny as it sounds, they heal you."

She stared at her plate. "I'll think about it."

I glanced down the table to where Aidan was sitting. He was staring at Grace, longing in his eyes. Poor bloke.

The rest of the week continued in about the same fashion. Rox continued ignoring me. And Grace continued ignoring Aidan.

Then one day at lunch, while Grace and I were in the middle of a conversation about Potions class, Aidan stood up on the table a few feet away from us.

Grace turned and stared at him, eyes wide, as did everyone else in the room.

Aidan cleared his throat. "Grace," he began, "I know you've been ignoring me and I understand why. You don't think I'm trustworthy. You think I'm just messing around with you. But you should know that's not true at all. I've loved you since I first set eyes on you. You were 11 years old, soaking wet, and standing in the Entrance hall, waiting for the sorting ceremony to begin. I thought you were the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen. I still do. I loved you then, I love you now, and I'll continue loving you even more in the future. I'll love you forever. I swear. Just say you'll be mine."

Tears were streaming down Grace's face. "Aidan…" she whispered.

He jumped down from the table and walked over to her. Grabbing her hands, he pulled her up.

He stared into her eyes. "Please," he murmured.

She nodded.

A huge smile spread across his face. "Really?"

"Yes," she said. "Yes, yes, yes."

He picked her up and twirled her around. When he set her down, she grabbed his face between her hands and kissed him full on the mouth. They stayed like, happy and in love, for quite some time.

And I felt even more alone than ever.

* * *

><p><em>I got bored earlier, so I decided to find pictures on Google images of people that I thought resembled how the characters in this story look in my mind. They're on my profile if you want to check them out.<em>

_Anyway, I hoped you liked the chapter. Don't forget to review!_


	15. Chapter 15

As Rox continued to ignore me and Grace and Aidan spent more and more time together, I continued to feel lonelier and lonelier.

I needed Teddy. I needed to talk to him. I needed his friendship.

So I owled him a couple of days before the first Hogsmeade trip of the new term to ask him if he would consider meeting me there.

His response was short and to the point.

_Vic,_

_The Three Broomsticks, 12:00._

_Teddy_

I was nervous when I arrived at the pub. I had no idea what to expect. I was ten minutes early, so I figured I would end up waiting for him. But to my surprise, I spotted him almost immediately. He was sitting at a small table in the corner, his turquoise hair the brightest thing in the room.

I slid in across from him.

"Hello, Victoire," he said, his voice almost formal sounding.

"Hey," I replied.

"How are you?" he asked.

"Fine," I said, copying his stiff tone. "And you?"

"Can't complain," he replied.

We sat in silence for what felt like years. And it was the awkward kind of silence. The kind that made you pray that a hole would open up in the ground so that you could drop though it and disappear.

I had no idea what to say to him. How were you supposed to go about begging your ex-boyfriend to be your friend again?

I shot a glance at him. He wasn't looking at me. It was almost as if he was avoiding making eye contact with me. I followed his gaze and noticed that he appeared to be looking at a girl. A young pretty girl. I knew that he was probably just staring off into space, but I still suddenly felt very flustered. So in flustered in fact that I somehow managed to accidently knock over his butterbeer.

He quickly redirected his gaze when he heard my quiet shriek as his nearly-full glass hit the table.

For some reason the sight of the brownish liquid spilling everywhere made tears well up in my eyes.

Teddy quickly scourgified the mess. When he looked up and saw the tears streaming down my face, he looked alarmed.

"It's just butterbeer, Vic," he said. "I can get another one. There's no need to cry."

I wiped my eyes and nose on my sleeve, not caring how disgusting I looked.

Teddy did a good job of quickly covering up his slightly repulsed expression almost immediately.

"I'm not crying about the butterbeer," I said. "I just have a lot of shit going on in my life right now and knocking over your freaking drink just set me off for some reason."

"What kind of shit?" he asked. He was definitely not avoiding making eye contact with me now. His brown eyes were boring into mine, filled with concern.

"Well," I began, "the main thing is that Rox hates me."

He looked at me incredulously. "Rox hates you?"

"She won't speak to me. Hasn't in weeks."

He shook his head. "That's crazy. You two have always been inseparable. What happened?"

"She just got pissed off at something I said to her. And it's just been really hard. She's my best friend, you know. I feel like I have no one to confide in."

"What about Grace?" he asked.

"Well, she and Aidan finally got together. Which is great, don't get me wrong, but they spend a lot of time together. I feel like the third wheel when I'm around them."

Suddenly I felt those stupid tears welling up in my eyes again. "I just really need someone to talk to," I said. "Someone like… like you."

"Vic…" he began.

"I know you don't like the idea of us just being friends," I interjected. "But I really need you. I need things to be like they were before we ever dated. Please."

He nodded. "Alright," he said. "Let's give it a go."

I smiled. "Thank you."

We sat there for a while and I filled him in on what had happened between Rox and me, as well as what had happened between Grace and Aidan.

Then, when he was in the middle of a story about something Uncle Percy had done at work, we were interrupted by someone squealing Teddy's name. Someone who was approaching our table. Someone with black hair and tan skin and big boobs.

_No, no, no, no_, I thought to myself. _Go away. Go away. Go away._

Maria slid into the seat next to Teddy.

"Teddy!" she cooed. "Fancy seeing you here!"

He grinned. "Hey Maria."

She turned to me and her eyes immediately dropped to my stomach. Her overly-glossed mouth fell open. "Omigod! You're pregnant!"

She turned to Teddy. "Why didn't you tell me you were going to be a father?"

"Er," he replied, "I'm not. The boyfriend she had before me is."

"Omigod, I'm so embarrassed," she said, not looking embarrassed at all.

Did this stupid skank know how to say anything other than 'omigod'? She sounded like an American.

Teddy shrugged. "It's an honest mistake."

She smiled. "So how are you two? Still madly in love?"

"Actually," replied Teddy, "we broke up. We're just friends."

Her perfectly waxed eyebrows shot up. "Omigod! I just keep embarrassing myself, don't I?"

_Yes_, I thought, _I'd definitely be embarrassed if I went out in public looking as much like a hooker as you do._

Out loud I said, "It's no problem. Like Teddy said, it's an honest mistake."

She laughed. It was a hideous laugh. Scratchy and hoarse sounding. Like she'd been heavily drinking and smoking since was two.

I stood up, needing to get away from her. "I need to use the loo," I told them. "I'll be back in a minute."

I stayed in the loo for as long as I possibly could. But then an annoyed Slytherin girl started pounding on the door, telling me to get my arse out of there. So I did.

I headed back to the table. Maria had slid her chair so close to Teddy that she was practically in his lap.

I stopped walking, wanting to know what they were talking about.

"You know," Maria was saying, as she fiddled with the buttons on his shirt, "if you're looking for a rebound or something…"

Her hand was sliding down lower and lower.

"… I'm always available," she murmured, her hand reaching its destination.

I couldn't bear to hear what Teddy's answer was. If he wanted to shag Maria, I didn't want to know anything about it.

So I quickly hurried over to the table, just as Teddy was opening his mouth to reply. When he saw me, he scooted away from Maria so fast that she nearly toppled out of her chair.

I hoped my expression didn't give away that I'd heard what she had said to him. I plopped down in my chair and smiled brightly. "So what are we talking about?"

"Nothing," replied Teddy. "Nothing at all."

Maria stood up. "I better go," she said. "Maybe I'll see you around."

She walked away. Every guy in the room turned to stare at her bum as she went. Every guy except Teddy, at least. He was staring at me.

"What are you looking at?"

"You."

"Well yes, I can see that," I replied. "But why?"

He shrugged. "I was just thinking that you somehow manage to look beautiful, even when you're six months pregnant, you're wearing a baggy T-shirt and sweats, and you don't have a speck of makeup on."

"Not as beautiful as Maria," I replied.

"Maria looks like a blow-up doll," he said. "You're much more beautiful."

I grinned. My mind wandered to when Aidan had told Grace that she was the most beautiful girl that he'd ever seen.

"Am I the most beautiful girl you've ever seen?" I asked.

"Yes," he replied without hesitation.

I felt my heart speed up.

Teddy was staring at me with the most intense expression on his face. He was staring at me in the kind of way a _friend_ wasn't supposed to stare at you.

Shit.

I stood up quickly. "I should get going," I said. "I have a lot of homework."

He stood up as well, looking disappointed. "Okay," he said. "You'll write to me, right?"

I nodded. "Bye, Teddy," I said, turning to leave.

"Bye," he replied.

I stopped and turned around. "I'm really glad we're friends again," I said.

"Yeah," he replied. "Me too."

* * *

><p><em>I hope you liked the chapter. As always, don't forget to review!<em>


	16. Chapter 16

Over the next few weeks, Teddy and I exchanged a fair amount of letters. They weren't long or complicated or filled with romantic undertones. They were just letters. The kind friends exchanged. Filled with simple stories like the stupid thing his friend did after a bit too much firewhiskey or how Aidan and Fred had gotten detention for transfiguring Slughorn's cauldron into a giant slug in the middle of class.

Teddy and I were getting pretty good at the whole friendship thing, if I did say so myself.

Of course, it was easier not actually seeing him. Being friends with a piece of parchment was much easier than being friends with an actual boy.

Sometimes I still dreamt about him. Just like I still dreamt about Colin.

Guys were making my life so freaking complicated.

I set down Teddy's latest letter (filled with a story about an old muggle man who fancied his grandmother), which I'd been reading on my bed, and headed down to the common room.

Fred was sitting on a couch, head in a book. I threw myself down next to him, kicking off my shoes and placing my feet in his lap.

"Foot massage. Now," I demanded.

He set his book aside and turned to look at me, eyebrows raised.

"Please," I added with a smile.

"No can do, Vic. I'm way behind on my reading for Transfiguration."

"But you have to."

"And why is that?"

"Because I'm pregnant, I'm your cousin, and tomorrow's my birthday."

"I don't have to everything you want until the actual day of your birthday," he said, grinning. "Go find another cousin to give you a foot massage."

"Like Roxanne?" I asked sarcastically.

His grin disappeared. "Look," he said, "I don't know what happened between you and my sister, but you'll work it out, okay? You've been best friends forever."

"She hates me."

"That's bullshit. She misses you as much as you miss her. She's just too damn stubborn to admit it."

I sighed, leaning my head back against the armrest. I suddenly felt like crying and I didn't know why.

Fred looked at me, his eyes filled with concern. "How about I give you that foot massage now?"

I smiled. "That'd be brilliant."

The next morning, I was shaken awake by Grace.

"Wake up, Vic!" she squealed. "It's your birthday!"

I grunted, pulling my pillow over my head, trying to block out her voice.

"Go away," I mumbled.

She reached out to grab the pillow from me, but I retaliated by trying to punch her in the stomach. I missed by a few feet and hit my hand on the bedside table instead.

"Okay," she said. "You've left me no other choice."

And then she started to sing. Very loudly and very off-key.

"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear—"

"Stop! Now!" I shrieked.

"Only if you get up," she replied. I could practically hear the smirk in her voice.

I groaned, rolling over and placing my feet on the ground. I slowly mustered up all my energy and stood.

"Happy?" I asked.

"Extremely," she replied, handing me a present. "Happy 18th birthday, Vic."

I took it and tore open the paper.

Inside was a box filled with chocolate frogs and Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans.

I looked up and smiled. "You know me too well, Grace. Thanks."

"It's not much," she replied, "but I've always been rubbish at picking out gifts."

"Trust me," I said, "you can never go wrong with candy when it comes to me."

Down in the common room, Fred and Aidan were waiting for with yet another off tune rendition of "Happy Birthday" and gifts.

Aidan gave me a book about famous women Quidditch players.

Fred gave a couple of things from his dad's shop. I noticed that on the card he had signed "Fred and Rox" as if she the gift also came from her. Yeah right. Nice try, Fred.

At breakfast, about ten owls swooped down on me, delivering gifts and cards from different family members.

Even Teddy sent me a card. Inside he had tucked a picture from my fifth birthday party of me with my face covered in blue icing. I'm smiling and waving at the camera. Teddy is standing behind me, his hair the same color as the icing, laughing at me.

I read what he wrote.

_Happy 18__th__ Birthday, Vic. I was looking through some old photos and I found this one. I thought I'd send it to you to embarrass you. Do me a favor and try not to get so much icing on your face this year._

_Love, Teddy_

Were friends supposed to sign their cards with 'love'?

I opened the package from my parents. The card had a note from my mum that was about a mile long. I skimmed over it. At the end there was a PS.

_I ran into Colin at the store a couple of days ago. He remembered your birthday was coming up and asked me to tell you happy birthday for him. So Happy Birthday! _

For some reason the thought of Colin remembering my birthday made my heart speed up.

Which was wrong, very wrong. I needed to get over that boy once and for all.

Scratch that. I needed to get over both those boys once and for all.

Too bad I had no idea how.

Later that day in Potions class, I was told that the headmaster needed to see me.

When I got to his office, he greeted me with a warm smile. "Happy Birthday, Miss Weasley," he squeaked. "Please, have a seat."

"Thanks, Professor," I said, sitting down.

"Now, Miss Weasley, I assume you've figured out that I didn't ask you here today just to wish you happy birthday."

I nodded.

"I thought that it was time to discuss when exactly you will be returning home to continue your education from there."

"I thought that would happen after I gave birth," I replied, confused.

"Yes, that was the plan. But thinking about it more, I've come to the conclusion that you should return home a little before the birth. That way we can avoid unfortunate situations like you going into labor in the middle of class."

I shuddered at the thought. Unfortunate situation, indeed.

Flitwick peered at me over the top of his spectacles. "You're due in mid-April, correct?"

I nodded. "Yes, Professor."

He glanced at the calendar perched on his desk. "And today is January 30th. So that's two and a half months away."

Merlin's beard. Was it really so soon?

"I would say that returning home in late March or early April would make the most sense," continued Flitwick thoughtfully. "What do you think, Miss Weasley?"

I was still slightly preoccupied with how close mid-April suddenly seemed, so I only nodded.

"Good!" said Flitwick, clapping his hands together. "We'll figure out the exact date at a later time. Off you go then, Miss Weasley. I don't want to keep you from anymore class time."

Missing Potions class didn't seem like the most terrible thing in the world, but I nodded anyway as I stood up.

"See you later, Professor," I said, as I headed for the door.

Later that night, I was lying in bed looking through the pregnancy book Aunt Hermione had sent me for my birthday.

Yes. She gave me a book. About pregnancy. For my birthday.

But that was Hermione Weasley for you.

I flipped through the section about the third trimester, which I had just entered a few weeks before, noting all the crappy symptoms that I was already experiencing.

Backaches. Check.

Swollen feet and ankles. Check.

Frequent urination. Check.

Basically I was uncomfortable, tired, and moody all the time. And it was just going to get worse.

I flipped to the section about giving birth and immediately regretted it.

I found myself staring at the most disgusting thing I'd ever seen. That was what giving birth looked like?

Grace chose that moment to enter the room.

"What have I gotten myself into?" I asked, my eyes glued to the picture. I couldn't look away, no matter how much I wanted to.

She came over and looked down at the book.

"Ugh!" she screeched, taking a few steps back. "That's disgusting!"

"That's what I'm going to be experiencing in two and a half months," I said.

She shook her head, looking horrified.

"You and Aidan better be careful or this could be you as well," I added, just to see the expression on her face.

Her face went white. "We're being very careful," she whispered.

"I thought that Colin and I were being careful," I said. "But look how that turned out…"

"I'm never having sex again," she said, looking down at the picture. "At least not until I'm married."

I laughed. "Why don't you go tell Aidan that? Let's see how reacts."

"I'm serious about this," she said.

I set down the book and stood up. "Whatever floats your boat," I said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I left my Potions book downstairs and I need to go get it."

She followed me down the stairs and into the common room.

We bumped into Aidan at the bottom of the stairs.

"Hey, love," he said, grinning lazily at Grace.

"I'm not going to have sex with you anymore," Grace blurted out.

Poor Aidan's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "What?"

"I could get pregnant."

"You won't," he replied.

"You're right, I won't," she said. "Because abstinence is the best birth control."

"Why don't you go to bed and then we'll discuss this in the morning. When you're not delusional from lack of sleep."

"Aidan, I'm serious. I've seen Vic get pregnant and Bridget get pregnant and I don't want to risk it anymore."

Aidan sighed.

"Are you mad at me?" she whispered.

"No," he replied.

"Do you still want to be with me?"

He stared at her like she was crazy. "Do I still want to be with you? What kind of question is that? Of course I do. I love you."

I watched as he pulled her into his arms. She smiled contentedly and buried her face in his chest.

"When we get married, we'll be able to have all the sex we want. I can wait until then," he said.

She pulled her head back and stared up at him.

"Do you really think we'll get married someday?"

"Well I'm planning on asking you, so you better say yes."

Merlin, they were disgustingly cute. I couldn't even watch this anymore. I quickly grabbed my textbook and hurried back upstairs.

I lay down and sighed. Time for another night filled with dreams about the two boys who had once been mine, but no longer were.

* * *

><p><em>Sorry it took me so long to update. School keeps me busy.<em>

_I hoped you liked the chapter. Don't forget to review._


	17. Chapter 17

The days turned into weeks and the weeks turned into months and soon it was nearly time for me to return home. And nearly time for me to give birth.

I wandered into the common room once Friday evening and sat down next to Aidan. "My back hurts so freaking bad," I told him.

"Yes I know, Vic," he replied. "You've mentioned that already. Quite often in fact."

"My boobs hurt too," I moaned.

Aidan looked so horrified that I had to stifle my laughter.

"They've gotten so big too," I mused. "Have you noticed?"

I could tell that Aidan was deliberately looking anywhere except my chest. "Erm… no… I haven't… I don't…"

_Don't laugh. Don't laugh._ Somehow I managed to keep a straight face. "I mean, they were average size before," I continued, "but now they're just huge."

"I hadn't noticed," he stammered. "I have a girlfriend. I only look at her boobs. I don't even notice anyone else's. In fact, I didn't even know other girls had boobs 'cos I was so caught up in only looking at hers."

The only thing that could possibly make the situation funnier was if Grace herself was there.

"Hey, guys."

Speak of the devil and the devil shall appear.

"Hey, Grace," I said, smiling widely.

"What are you two talking about?" she asked.

"Nothing," replied Aidan.

"My boobs," I said at the exact same time.

Grace's eyebrows shot up in the air. "You were talking about your boobs?"

"Don't be jealous, Grace," I told her. "I was just messing with him. His face was hilarious."

I looked over at him. His face was still bright red. "Poor thing. I didn't realize he was so sensitive about discussing female anatomy."

"Shut up, Vic," he mumbled.

I laughed.

Grace sat down next to Aidan, resting her head on his shoulder. I watched as he took her hand in his and she smiled up at him adoringly.

"I'm leaving in a week," I said suddenly.

Grace's head immediately popped up, her smile gone. "A week?" she asked.

I nodded. "Flitwick told me today."

"I'm gonna miss you," she said.

"I'll miss you too," I whispered. I don't know how the mood had gone from so carefree to so somber in such a short period of time, but it had. And I felt the tears welling up in my eyes.

"I don't know I'm gonna do this," I whispered. "Keeping up with my schoolwork and taking care of a baby? How am I supposed to do that?"

"You'll be able to, Vic, "said Grace, squeezing my hand. "I know you will."

"But all that schoolwork? Without any teachers around?"

"Teddy can help you," said Aidan. "He's really smart."

"I suppose so," I replied.

The both gave me encouraging smiles.

For some reason, this made me even sadder.

"I have to pee," I said, standing up. "The baby's putting pressure on my bladder, you know."

I quickly hurried towards the loo, nearly running in to someone on my way.

"I'm so sorry, that was my fault," I exclaimed, looking up.

It was Roxanne.

I froze.

She was staring at me, eyes narrowed.

"Hey," I mumbled, trying to remember when I'd last spoken to her. It had been at least two months.

"You should watch where you're going," she said simply, before turning and walking away.

"Right, I'll be sure to do that," I replied, even though she was gone.

A random group of second years all looked at me like I was some crazy pregnant girl who was talking to herself or something.

Oh wait…

I was.

The next week passed by faster than I wanted it to. The night before I was to leave, I was up in the girl's dorm, finishing my packing, when Grace came up and sat on my bed.

"Hey," she said. "How's the packing going?"

"Almost finished," I said, _Accio_ing some socks out from under my bed and tossing them in my trunk. I closed the lid and sat down next to her.

"I can't believe I'm leaving for good," I said, looking around.

"You'll come back for a week in June to take your N.E.W.T.s," she replied.

"Ah yes, the Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests. That will be just what I need after a couple months of caring for a newborn."

The baby gave me a sharp kick, like she knew I was talking about her.

"Have you thought about names?" asked Grace.

"A little," I said. "But nothing seems right. Do have any ideas?"

She laughed. "I'm not going to name your baby for you, Vic. You'll think of something." She paused. "Or maybe Colin will…"

I hadn't thought of that. "Do you think he'll want to help name the baby?"

She shrugged. "How should I know? I've only met him twice. I don't know how his mind works."

"I've known him for almost three years and I still don't know how his mind works," I replied. "Or how any guy's mind works for that matter."

"They're mysterious creatures," agreed Grace.

I nodded, yawning. "I think I'm gonna go to bed now," I said.

Grace stood up. "Good night."

"Good night," I replied.

It had been decided that the easiest way for me to return home would be by the Floo Network. So the next day I headed to Flitwick's office, trunk in tow, and stepped into his fireplace.

"Shell Cottage!" I shouted, throwing down a pinch of floo powder.

Seconds later, I found myself in the fireplace in my kitchen. I stepped out, dusting myself off. "Mum!"

My mum turned away from the counter. "Victoire!" she shrieked, dropping her wand on the floor.

I ran into her arms. "I missed you," I murmured, burying my head in her shoulder.

"Oh, darling, I missed you too," she replied. She took a step back, holding me at arm's length. "Look at you," she said. "You've gotten so big."

I nodded in agreement. "As Fred so eloquently put it, I look like I could pop at any second."

She grimaced slightly. "Fred always did 'ave such a way with words."

I spent the weekend sleeping and spending time with my parents. It was calm and relaxing and I felt less stressed than I had for months.

Then Monday arrived. And with it the owls carrying assignments from my teachers. Lots of assignments.

I sat on the couch, books spread out all around me, staring at the handwritten instructions from Slughorn about a potion I was supposed to concoct on my own.

I asked Mum for help, but all she did was tell me that Dad's old cauldron was in the basement and that I could find most of the ingredients in the cupboard in the kitchen.

Thirty minutes later, I found myself staring at a dark gray, lumpy potion that smelled faintly of dirty socks. My potions textbook told me that at this stage it was supposed to be light blue and smell like the ocean.

I'd always been rubbish at Potions.

For a minute I pictured myself going to Diagon Alley, buying a flask of this potion, and sending it back to Slughorn. He'd never know that I hadn't made it. But then I pictured being asked to make this potion during my N.E.W.T and receiving a failing grade for coming up with something similar to this. Cheating would only come back to bite me in the arse.

I realized Aidan was right. I was going to need Teddy's help. Teddy wasn't rubbish at Potions. Teddy wasn't rubbish at anything regarding school.

So I wrote to him, asking if he could possibly come over on his days off and maybe even after work once in a while to help me. I even added in a pretty please with sugar on top for good measure.

He replied to say that he would, and over the next week he managed to show up every day.

On Saturday night we were both sitting on the couch, taking a break from my schoolwork. We had the house to ourselves because my parents were out of town for the weekend. Teddy was in the middle of telling me a joke involving a grindylow, a banshee, and a wrackspurt.

I snorted loudly when he got to the punch line. It was extremely unladylike.

He grinned, looking pleased with himself for eliciting such a strong reaction from me.

For some reason, that just made me laugh more. I closed my eyes and threw my head back, cackling like a crazy person.

"Vic?" I heard him say, sounding slightly concerned. "You alright?"

I took a few breathes and opened my eyes. His face was inches from my mine, his blue eyes wide. I could feel his warm breath on my face.

Merlin's beard.

"You smell nice," I whispered. "Like a boy… but a clean one."

He looked amused. "I think you need to go to bed, Vic. You seem very tired."

He was still so close. Why was he so close?

"I'm not tired," I mumbled.

He leaned in closer. My breath hitched and my heart sped up.

"You _look_ tired," he murmured.

"I'm not."

He shook his head, obviously not believing me, and started to pull away. I grabbed his shirt collar and pulled him back.

"What are you doing?" he asked, his voice low.

I didn't answer him. Instead, without thinking, I pulled him closer and pressed my lips against his. He froze for a second, but then he responded full force. I moaned, my tongue demanding entrance to his mouth. He obliged immediately. My hands made their way to the buttons on his shirt, which I hastily undid. I pressed myself as close to him as possible, wishing my giant stomach wasn't in the way.

Then, suddenly, Teddy tensed up and pulled away. He scooted away until there was a good foot between us and hurriedly buttoned his shirt.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

He turned to stare at me. "What's wrong?" he asked, his voice cold. "I'll tell you what's wrong. We broke up, remember? Or, to be more specific, you broke up with me. You wanted to just be friends. You said that being in a relationship was too much to deal with right now."

"Friends can kiss each other," I mumbled in reply.

He sighed, shaking his head. "You mean like friends with benefits?" he asked, looking angry.

"Maybe," I replied. "What's wrong with that?"

"What's wrong with that?" he repeated. "That's not who you are, Vic. You're not that kind of girl. You don't have flings. You have serious boyfriends."

"Well, maybe I want to switch things up a little," I said, pouting slightly.

"Hooking up with me while still trying to be only friends is not going to do anything but mess with both of our heads and possibly screw things up beyond repair."

I sighed, knowing he was right. "You know, I think I am actually pretty tired," I said, "I should get to bed."

He stood up. "I guess I'll be going then," he said, taking a step toward the door.

"Wait," I replied. "Don't go."

He stopped. "Why not?"

"I don't like being alone at night," I replied.

"I guess I could sleep on the couch," he said.

"Or you could come up to my room with me."

He just looked at me, eyebrows raised in a what-did-we-just-talk-about sort of way.

"Not like that," I said quickly. "Just to sleep."

He shrugged. "Alright then."

Once in my room, I lay down on my head. Teddy hovered uncertainly in the doorway.

"Come lie down," I said.

"I can just sleep on the floor," he replied, taking a few tentative steps inside and assessing my carpet.

"Don't be ridiculous," I replied. "There's plenty of room on my bed."

"Fine," he said, lying down beside me. "But you better not steal all the covers."

I turned off the lights and lay there on my back. Beside me, I could feel Teddy fidgeting around, trying to get comfortable. Then, after a while, he was still. I could hear his slow, steady breathing and I wondered if he'd fallen asleep.

"Teddy," I whispered.

"Mmm," he murmured in reply. I could tell that he was on the verge of drifting off.

"If I ever decided sometime in the future that I wanted to be in a relationship with you again, would you take me back?"

He was silent for so long that I was sure that he'd fallen asleep. But just when I'd completely given up hope of an answer, I heard him quietly say, "I'll always take you back."

* * *

><p><em>The baby's almost here!<em>

_Thanks for reading. Don't forget to review!_


	18. Chapter 18

I woke up the next morning at about 10 am. The bed was empty except for me. Teddy was always an early riser. I could smell the bacon frying downstairs and I knew that he was making breakfast. I hauled myself out of bed, my mouth watering

I was on the stairs when I felt the first contraction. It was short and not too painful, but it surprised me and I let out a small yelp.

"Vic?" I heard Teddy shout from the kitchen. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" I responded.

I couldn't actually be in labor, I told myself. It had to just be that false labor thing that I had read about in Aunt Hermione's book. I wasn't due for two weeks.

I felt another contraction while sitting at the breakfast table.

"Ouch," I murmured, grimacing slightly.

Teddy glanced up from his newspaper. "Are you sure you're okay, Vic?"

I bit my lip nervously. "I might be in labor," I mumbled.

He jumped up from his seat. "What!"

His slightly hysterical expression made me freak out more than I already was.

"But you're not due for two weeks!" he exclaimed.

"I know that!" I shouted back. "That's why I think it's just those Braxton Hicks contraction things."

Teddy's face scrunched up in confusion. "What the hell are backstone hickies?"

"Braxton Hicks," I corrected. "They're false contractions."

"Well how do you know the difference between them and the real thing?"

I tried to remember what Aunt Hermione's book said on the matter. "I think that if the contractions start getting stronger, longer, and closer together, they're real."

I desperately wished that this wasn't happening when my parents were out of town. I wasn't even completely sure where they were. I just knew it had something to do with my dad's job.

I needed my mummy.

"So, we just wait?" asked Teddy.

I shrugged. "I guess so."

So I lay down on the couch and prayed that the contractions stayed irregular. Irregular meant false labor and I couldn't be in labor. Not now. Not two weeks early.

Of course, my luck seems to be nonexistent because as the hours passed the contractions became more painful and of course regular.

_Ouch! _There was another one.

"How long ago was the last one?" asked Teddy.

"About ten minutes ago," I replied.

"When are you supposed to go the hospital?"

"When they're about five minutes apart and last for about a minute each."

Teddy looked half crazed. He kept running his hands through his hair, which was sticking up in all directions and his eyes kept darting back and forth between me and the clock. "Maybe you should go now. I want you to get there on time. I can't deliver a baby."

"You're not supposed to go to the hospital too early," I told him calmly. I paused. "Teddy will you go into town and find Colin? He should be at the store right now."

Teddy's eyes narrowed. "What?"

"I told him that he can be there when the baby's born. And I was just thinking that he's probably the only way that we can get to the hospital. I can't apparate while I'm in labor and he has a car."

"I can't leave you alone."

"I'm fine!" I snapped. "Go!"

Fifteen minutes later, they were back.

Teddy rushed straight into the room. "Are you alright? Are your contractions any closer together?"

"I'm fine, Teddy. The contractions are the same as before."

I glanced past him to where Colin was hovering in the doorway.

"Hey, Colin," I said. "Don't be a stranger."

He bit his lip and walked over to me slowly. Teddy glared at him and took a step back, crossing his arms and staring him down.

"Hey, Vic," said Colin. "How are you?"

"Oh, just marvelous," I replied. "Going into labor is like a freaking picnic on the beach."

"Don't be a bitch, Vic," said Colin, grinning slightly. "It's not very attractive."

"If you get to be an arsehole, then I get to be a bitch," I told him.

He shrugged. "Fair enough."

Teddy cleared his throat loudly. "So Colin, what do you do for a living?"

Colin turned around. "Er, nothing. I mean, I work at the store part time."

"And that's how you plan to support the baby? With a crappy part-time job?"

Collin frowned. "I'm still in school, mate. You can't really expect me to have a full-time career."

"When do you graduate?"

"In a few months."

They were both glaring at each other, arms crossed. Neither seemed to notice that I was experiencing another contraction. It was really just my luck that on the day I went into labor, my parents were nowhere to be found and I was stuck with my two incompetent ex-boyfriends, who were arguing like five-year-olds.

"Are you going to university?"

"Nah," replied Colin. "That's not really for me."

Teddy gave him the most condescending look I'd ever seen him give anybody. "So what exactly do you plan to do with your life?"

"Well, I've always planned on eventually being somewhat successful in the music industry…"

Teddy rolled his eyes.

"… but until that happens, I'll probably continue working at the store full-time. The owner told me that he'll make me manager after I graduate because I'm his best worker. He even told me that when he dies he'll probably leave the store to me because he's got no living relatives and I'm like a grandson to him."

"I see," said Teddy.

"What about you?" asked Colin. "Are you at university right now?"

Teddy froze for a second. Obviously he wasn't. Wizards didn't have universities. But it wasn't like he could tell Colin that.

"Er, yes. Yes I am."

"Which one?"

Teddy looked like a deer caught in the headlights. I could tell that he didn't know the names of many muggle universities.

"Oxford," he finally replied. It was obviously the only university he'd ever heard of.

Even Colin looked impressed by this. "Really? What are you studying?"

Teddy gave a nervous little laugh. "Well…I mean…What aren't I studying?"

Colin looked confused. "What?"

"You know…A little bit of everything, I guess."

Teddy's a bad liar.

"So you're undecided?"

"Yes," replied Teddy, looking relieved. "Undecided. That's me."

"And you're judging me for not having a definite life plan?"

"Argh!" I shouted as another contraction hit. I clutched the side of the couch, my knuckles turning white. "Shit! Shit! Shit!"

They both turned towards me, as if they suddenly remembered I existed.

Colin practically elbowed Teddy out of the way and knelt down beside me. "Are you okay, Vic?"

I shook my head, unable to speak. I grabbed his outstretched hand and squeezed as hard as I could, my fingernails digging into his flesh. He winced slightly, but didn't try to let go.

When the pain finally ended, I turned to Teddy. "You need to tell my parents that I'm in labor."

"How?"

"How about a phone?" asked Colin with an isn't-it-obvious-look on his face.

"They don't have a phone," I responded

"Seriously?"

"A Patronus is the only thing that will get there fast enough," I told Teddy.

Colin looked extremely confused. "A what?"

Teddy's eyes widened. "But what about him?" he asked, gesturing towards Colin.

"He's going to have to find out at some point, isn't he? I'm one. The baby's going to be one."

"The baby's going to be what? What are you?" asked Colin loudly. His eyes widened. "Holy shit! Are you in a cult? Is that why you can't have phones or other electronics? Because I don't really think I'm okay with our kid being part of a cult."

"Colin, shut up. I'm not in a cult."

"Then what are you?"

I took a deep breath. "I'm a witch."

Colin eyebrows shot up. "You're Wiccan?"

"What the hell is 'Wiccan'? I'm a witch."

He laughed nervously. "You're kind of freaking me out, Vic."

"I'm a witch. Teddy's a wizard. Our baby is going to be a witch. I have a wand. I can do magic spells and make potions."

"You're insane."

"Teddy, send my parents your Patronus," I told him, ignoring the look Colin was giving me.

He hesitated, but then he pulled out his wand. "Expecto Patronum!" he shouted. The silvery animal came shooting out.

As I watched Teddy give it the message, I felt another contraction. I grabbed Colin's hand again. I expected him to pull away. He looked so freaked out. He was staring at Teddy's Patronus, mouth hanging open. He tensed up when I touched him. He thought I was a crazy person. But he glanced down at my stomach. At his baby. And he didn't let go.

The Patronus was gone and Teddy turned to see Colin's reaction. The room was dead silent. Colin opened his mouth. Then shut it. Then opened it again.

"What was that?" he finally managed to get out.

"My Patronus," replied Teddy. "Basically my spirit guardian. It drives off dark creatures and can be used as a means of communication. A Patronus takes the form of an animal that reflects the caster somehow."

"What animal was yours? I couldn't tell."

"A werewolf."

"A werewolf?" he laughed. "So they don't have to be real animals?"

"Werewolves are real," replied Teddy. "My dad was one. That's why my Patronus takes that form. My dad died in the Battle of Hogwarts when I was a baby, fighting Lord Voldemort, the darkest wizard of all time, and his followers. My mum died as well."

Teddy made a strange noise. "You're both crazy. You expect me to believe all this? That witches and wizards are real?" He turned to me. "Vic, do you really believe all this? That his dad was a werewolf. Don't you see how crazy this all is?"

"Of course I believe all this. It's true. Even the werewolf part. My dad was attacked by a werewolf once. The same one that turned Teddy's dad. But my dad didn't become one because Greyback wasn't transformed at the time. It's where he got his scars though."

Colin shook his head, a look of disbelief on his face.

"Teddy," I said. "Change your appearance."

Teddy nodded. "I'm a Metamorphmagus," he told Colin. "It means I can change my appearance at will. It's a very rare ability."

Suddenly Teddy's hair was no longer brown. It was blond. It was red. Green. Blue. Purple. Grey. Then he was completely bald.

He shrunk down until he was five feet tall. Then grew until he was seven feet tall.

He opened his mouth and there were no teeth in there. Then there were.

His nose was small. Then large. Then it was a pig snout. A bird's beak.

Colin stood frozen in one spot.

Teddy grinned slightly. Then he made his hair black. His eyes green. His skin pale.

Standing right in front of Colin was a nearly exact clone of himself. He gave a shout and leapt back.

Teddy returned to his original form, still grinning. "Do you believe us now?"

Colin nodded slowly. He lifted his finger and pointed past Teddy. "Patronus." His voice was quivering.

Teddy turned. It was my dad's Patronus. It began to speak in my dad's voice. "Go to the hospital," it said. "Your mother and I will meet you there."

"Okay, Colin," I said. "You're going to need to drive us."

He nodded, still looking stunned.

"Obviously we can't get all the way to St. Mungo's in time, so we'll just have to go the nearest muggle hospital."

"Muggle?" asked Colin.

"It's a non-magic person," I replied. "Like you."

"Oh," he said. "Right."

I held out my arms. "Both of you, come help me up. I have a baby inside me that wants out. It isn't going to wait around for you guys."

They led me out to Colin's car and helped me get situated in the back seat. Then Colin got in the driver's seat and Teddy got in the passenger's seat.

"Ready?" asked Colin.

_Of course not_, I wanted to reply. But instead I said, "Let's do this."

He started the car and began to drive.

I lay in the backseat and stared up at both of them. This wasn't how I used to envision the trip to the hospital to give birth when I was younger. In my imagination, I was at least 25-years-old and accompanied by my loving husband. I wasn't 18 and accompanied by my two exes.

Life sure is full of surprises.

* * *

><p><em>Thanks for reading! Please review!<em>


	19. Chapter 19

Who knew that labor could last so long? 21 hours. That's how long it took for me to finally give birth after I got to the hospital. 21 hours!

There were a lot of screams and a lot of tears. I said a lot of not so ladylike things to Colin and dug my fingernails into my mother's hand as if I was holding on for dear life.

It was the longest 21 hours of my life. I thought it would never end. I was sure that the baby would never come, that I would push and push and nothing would happen. It wouldn't matter how many women had successfully done it before me, I would fail at it.

But of course I didn't. And after that final push, her crying filled the room and I saw my daughter for the first time.

They placed her in my arms and I was sure I'd never seen anything so beautiful in my life. She was perfect. She had a thin layer of dark hair on top of her head and big blue eyes. I never wanted to let go of her. I wanted to hold her forever and protect her and make sure nothing bad ever happened to her. She was mine.

Colin was standing beside my bed, eyes wide, staring down at her. There was a small smile on his face. "She's beautiful," he said. "Just like you."

"Would you like to hold her?" I asked.

He nodded and I handed her to him.

"She's so tiny," he said.

I nodded in agreement.

"What are you going to name her?" he asked.

I watched as my parents went out to tell everyone in the waiting room that I'd finally given birth. "I have no idea. I can't decide."

"Should we name her after someone? Like our mums or something?"

"Your mum is Jacqueline, right?"

He nodded.

"Fleur Jacqueline," I said aloud. I didn't really like the sound of that. "Jacqueline Fleur," I said instead. I paused, letting that sink in. "Jacqueline Fleur," I repeated. I glanced up at Colin. "What do you think of Jacqueline Fleur?"

"I like it," he said. "We can call her Jackie."

"Jackie," I said, holding out my arms. "Come to mummy, Jackie."

Colin handed her back to me. "Hello, Jackie," I said. "Do you like your name?"

Just then, my parents came back in the room. "Guess what," I said. "We named her!"

My mum clapped her hands together. "Zat's wonderful! What's 'er name?"

"Jacqueline Fleur O'Brien," I responded. "We named her after our mums."

"It's beautiful," my mum replied. "Just like 'er." She turned to my dad. "Don't you zink, Bill?"

He nodded. "So do we get to hold her now or are you two going to keep her all to yourselves forever?"

I handed her over to my parents, yawning.

"Get some sleep, Vic," my mum said. "You must be exhausted."

So I closed my eyes and allowed myself to drift off to sleep.

Over the next few weeks there was a constant stream of visitors to Shell Cottage. Friends and relatives came to admire the baby and shower her with gifts.

Sleep became a foreign concept. I honestly thought that I would have to give up on my schoolwork and say farewell to any hope of passing my N.E.W.T.s or graduating. It was just too much to do along with caring for a newborn.

Luckily for me, my mum was there to help me out when I needed it. Not too much, she wanted me to learn responsibility. But at 3 o'clock in the morning, when I'd fallen asleep on top of my Potions textbook or something, sprawled out on the living room floor, she was always willing to go check on the crying baby.

And then there was Colin. He was honestly a lifesaver. When he wasn't at school or at work, he was at my house, always willing to look after Jackie when I needed to finish an essay or practice a spell.

One Saturday afternoon, I was sitting on my living room floor, practicing transfiguring a small statue to make it "come alive."

Colin was sitting on the couch, holding Jackie and staring in awe as the small stone man danced around the room.

"That's brilliant," he said. He'd moved past the stage of being freaked out by magic and now just thought all of it was amazing. He never seemed to get tired of watching me practice spells and he was constantly flipping through albums of moving photos. He'd also developed quite liking for Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans and other Wizard candy.

"Vic," he'd said the day before, his mouth stuffed with chocolate frog, "why didn't you tell me you were a witch sooner? All of this magic shit is so fucking awesome!"

I'd rolled my eyes and told him not to talk with his mouth open.

I watched as the statue spun around in circles, faster and faster, before falling down and becoming motionless once more.

I stood up, setting my wand down on the coffee table, and went to sit down next to Colin, taking Jackie from him. He turned to look at me and my breath hitched in my throat. His big green eyes were staring into mine, a lazy grin tugging at the corners of his mouth, and I wanted to reach out and fix the lock of black hair that had fallen out of place. But I didn't.

"What are you staring at, Vic?" he asked. "Having trouble resisting my good looks, are you? It's understandable. I've been told I'm a sex god."

I laughed. "Who in the world told you that? And how many drugs had they been taking?"

"I think it was you. No drugs required," he replied, his grin getting bigger.

I rolled my eyes. "I guarantee that I said no such thing. You're so full of crap, Colin O'Brien."

He smirked, his eyes moving around the room until they locked on my wand. He reached out and grabbed it, examining it carefully. "I still don't get how all that magic comes out of this twig."

"The magic doesn't really come out of the wand," I told him. "It just channels the magic. It's possible to do magic without a wand, but only really advanced wizards can control it. It can happen to any witch or wizard on accident though, especially when they're younger and haven't started school yet."

"Interesting," he replied, continuing to exam the wand.

"You know what would probably make you piss your pants in excitement?" I asked him.

He set the wand down and turned to look at me. "Megan Fox asking me for sex?"

I rolled my eyes. "No, Colin. I was talking about you going to Diagon Alley with me."

"Diagon Alley? What's that?"

"A major wizarding shopping district. If you think the stuff around here is cool, then you should seriously see this place."

His eyes widened. "Will you take me there?"

I shrugged. "Sure. We can go there sometime next week since it's the Easter holidays and you don't have school."

He smiled. "Awesome."

"Which reminds me, my mum wanted to know if you wanted to come to my grandparents' house tomorrow for Easter dinner?

"That'd be great," he replied. "My mum has to work, like she always does, so I don't have any plans."

"You'll have to drive us there though," I said. "The rest of my family will be traveling by the Floo Network, but you obviously can't do that."

"I better get going," he said, standing up. "Mum left me a long list of errands she wants me to do." He bent down and kissed Jackie's forehead and then turned to me. "What time do you want me to get here tomorrow?" he asked.

"Probably about nine," I replied.

"Okay. See you then."

The next morning I woke up at 7:30. I stumbled out of bed, still exhausted from spending hours the night before trying to get Jackie to sleep. The rest of my family was still asleep because they didn't have to leave for the Burrow for hours.

I showered and pulled on a pink dress and heels and curled my hair. I loved being able to fit in my clothes again. I put Jackie into a tiny, floral dress

At 8:55, I heard Colin's car pull up. I hurried outside before he could honk the horn and wake up my entire family. He was leaning up against the passenger side door, cigarette in his mouth. I opened the backdoor and carefully placed Jackie in her car seat. Colin took one last drag before dropping the cancer stick and smashing into the ground. He opened the door for me and I slid in.

"So where exactly are we going?" he asked, as he situated himself in the driver's seat.

"The Burrow," I replied. "It's right outside of Ottery St. Catchpole in Devon."

"Alright," he said, starting the car.

"You're gonna love it there," I told him. "Lots of magic stuff."

When we arrived a few hours later, nearly my whole family was there. Almost immediately, Jackie was taken from me by of my aunts and I knew I wouldn't see her again for ages.

I spotted Teddy across the room. "I'm gonna go say hi to him," I told Colin.

Colin frowned slightly. "Alright," he said. "I'll just have a look around then."

I made my way over to Teddy. "Hey," I said.

He had been to my house a couple of times with Andromeda since Jackie was born, but we hadn't really had much of a chance to talk. The kiss hadn't been mentioned since the night it happened, three weeks before and it was definitely the elephant in the room every time he was around.

"Hey," he replied. "I see you brought Colin with you."

I nodded. "He didn't really have anywhere else to go. His mum has to work."

"Are you two…?" he trailed off and looked at me expectantly.

"I'm not going to respond until you complete that sentence."

He looked annoyed. "Fine, are you two back together?"

"No, "I replied. "We're not."

He looked relieved.

We chatted for a few minutes, but our conversation was interrupted when Rose and Lily came and dragged him away.

I sighed and looked around for Colin. He was nowhere to be found. Instead I accidently made eye contact with Roxanne. I quickly looked away. She, however, got up and started walking in my direction.

"Hello, Rox," I said awkwardly.

"Hey," she responded. She stared at her feet for a moment, picking at her thumb. She looked back up. "Your baby's really cute," she said quickly. "Er… I was just holding her. I hope that's okay."

"It's fine," I said. "And thanks. She is quite cute."

She bit her lip. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. I've been an idiot. Not long after we got in that stupid fight, I'd forgotten why I was even mad at you. But for some reason I was too stubborn to apologize to you. But now I finally am. Sorry that it's months late."

I smiled slightly. "I'm sorry too. I've missed you a lot."

"I've missed you more."

We hugged and then we sat down and began filling each other in on everything that had happened since January.

Colin found us a few minutes later. "Hey, Roxanne," he said, sitting down next to me and swinging his arm around my shoulder. I pushed it off.

"Hello, Colin," said Rox politely. She'd only met Colin a few times and I could tell she wasn't too fond of him.

"So have you two finally made up then?" he asked. "It's about time. Vic's always whining about how you hate her."

"Where have you been, anyway?" I asked.

"Well, I went outside for a cigarette…"

Rox and I wrinkled our noses in disgust at the same time.

"… and this little brown thing that looked like a potato with legs came and started trying to attack me. The all these others started to join it and I couldn't get them to go away. But luckily your dad showed up and stunned them with his wand."

"Fred was supposed to de-gnome the garden," said Rox. "Where is that idiot?" She got up. "I'm going to find him."

"See you later," I said.

I turned back to Colin. "Did they hurt you?"

"No," he replied, looking offended. "Of course not."

I rolled my eyes. "If you say so."

"Did Roxanne say that they were gnomes?" he asked.

"Yup."

He shook his head. "They don't look anything like the gnomes my grandma used to have in her garden."

"Those Santa Claus things with fishing rods are not real gnomes," I said. "They look ridiculous."

"Not as ridiculous as a potato with limbs," he replied, laughing.

I smacked his arm playfully. He grinned sadistically and then began to tickle me.

"Nooo!" I howled. "Stop! Don't make me hex you!"

"I'm not scared of you," he replied, continuing with his form of torture.

"Stop! Colin, stop!" I squealed. I squirmed out from under him, rolling off the couch and onto the floor.

I stood up, giggling. "I hate you."

He grinned. "You do not."

Shaking my head, I sat back down on the couch. "Touch me again and I'll hex you."

He poked me.

I pulled out my wand. "I warned you," I said, giggling even louder.

His arm snaked around my waist, as he pinned me against the arm of the couch, trying to wrestle the wand from my hand.

"Be careful!" I cried, laughing hysterically now.

For some reason, I chose that moment to look up. I immediately spotted Teddy sitting on the other side of the room, staring directly at us. He didn't really look jealous. He just looked sad. He immediately looked away when he saw me staring at him, directing his attention back to Rose and Lily.

I turned back to Colin, no longer in a playful mood. "Come on," I said, "let's go see if my grandma needs any help in the kitchen."

* * *

><p><em>A lot of you asked for a quick update and your wish is my command!<em>

_I hope you liked it! Reviews are appreciated!_


	20. Chapter 20

Two days later, Colin and I headed to London to visit Diagon Alley. We decided that taking Jackie with us wouldn't be the best idea, so we left her with my grandma at the Burrow.

The car ride was long and mostly consisted of us arguing over stupid things like which radio station to listen to.

"Um, no," I said firmly, when he chose a station playing a song that sounded a bit like it was being sung by group of angry banshees. "That is not real music."

"That's a great song, Vic. Come on," argued Colin, turning the volume up.

I reached out and changed the station. "There, that's better," I said. "I don't know who this is, but she has a pretty voice."

"This is an old Justin Bieber song, Vic. He's a _guy_."

"Oh."

We also seemed to have trouble agreeing on when to stop.

"I need to pee, Colin. Pull into the next gas station."

"Vic, we just stopped ten minutes ago. You said you were fine then."

"Well, now I do. Why are you being so difficult?"

His smoking habit was a slight problem to.

"I swear Colin, if you smoke that cigarette in this car, I will personally kill you with my bare hands."

"Well, I'm pulling over then. I need to smoke."

"Oh so you're pulling over now, but you wouldn't when I needed to pee? Your stupid smoking break is more important than my need to relieve my bladder?"

We ended up getting a little lost, which didn't help either.

"For the love of god, Vic! Just tell me if we're supposed to turn up here!"

"I don't know! I can't understand this stupid muggle map at all. What do all these markings mean?"

"Give me that," said Colin, snatching the map away from me.

"Keep your eyes on the road!" I snapped. "You're going to get us both killed!"

Somehow though, we did finally make it to London alive. After parking the car, I began to lead Colin towards the Leaky Cauldron.

"Here we are," I said, stopping in front of the pub. "This is the entrance."

Colin lifted an eyebrow. "This is a broken down old shop front, Vic."

"Oh yeah, I completely forgot that muggles can't see this place. Well, you're just going to have to take my word for it on this one. This is actually a wizarding pub called the Leaky Cauldron."

I grabbed his hand and we stepped inside.

His mouth fell open in shock. "Holy Shit! It really is a pub," he said, looking around.

"Told you," I said. "Come on," I added. "The entrance to Diagon Alley is out back."

We stepped outside into the courtyard. I pulled out my wand and tapped the bricks. Colin watched in awe as the entire wall began to shift, leaving a large archway for us to pass under.

"No way," breathed Colin, as he caught his first glimpse of Diagon Alley. "This is not real."

"Oh it definitely is," I said.

We began to walk, me pointing out all the things of interest and explaining them to Colin.

"There's Ollivanders," I said. "That's where everyone gets their wands."

He paused, reading the letters over the door. "Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C.," he murmured. He turned to look at me. "382 B.C.? Is that a joke?"

I laughed. "Nope."

We went inside a broomstick shop and I explained the concept of Quidditch to him. Then we headed to Flourish and Blotts where he got a kick out of book that screamed every time he opened it and nearly had his hand bitten off by a copy of the _Monster Book of Monsters_. After a few other stops we headed to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.

"Try to stay out of too much trouble," I told Colin. "I'm going to go find my uncle."

He nodded and made a beeline for the Headless Hats.

I rolled my eyes and headed for the back room where I thought Uncle George might be. Before I made it there I nearly bumped into a girl wearing magenta robes who was obviously an employee.

"Oops, sorry," I said. I looked up. "Bridget?"

"Victoire?" she said. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm showing Colin around. He just recently found out about magic and he loves it."

"Oh," she said. "So I heard you had your baby."

"Yep," I said. "Three and a half weeks ago. Her name is Jackie. She's lovely. Cries a lot though. "

She didn't respond. Her face was scrunched up and she looked like she was trying not to cry.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I… I had… a miscarriage," she whispered. "Last month. I told your uncle George not to tell anyone."

I froze, unable to think of what to say. "That's horrible," I finally said. "I'm so sorry that happened to you."

She let out a strangled sob.

"Come on" I said. "Let's go talk somewhere else."

I led her to the back room and we sat down at a small table.

"I just feel like it's all my fault," she whimpered. "Like if I had done something differently, the baby would still be alive."

"It's not your fault," I told her. "There's nothing you could have done."

She took a deep breath. "Sometimes I think he died as some kind of punishment. I didn't want to be pregnant when I first found out, so he was taken away from me."

"You have to stop thinking like that, Bridget," I said. "The baby didn't die as a punishment or because you did something wrong. It died because sometimes babies die."

"But it didn't even get a chance to be born. I didn't even get a chance to be a mother."

"I know," I whispered, patting her hand. "I know."

She wiped away some tears. "So," she said. "You're here with your baby daddy, huh?"

I was sort of shocked by the quick subject change, but I supposed that was her way of dealing with the grief.

"Er, yeah. I am."

She nodded. "So are two banging again or what?"

"No, we're just friends."

"I can't believe you dumped Teddy Lupin," she said. "He is one fine piece of man candy."

"Erm…"

"I definitely wouldn't say no to a quick roll in the hay with him."

"Well I'll be sure to tell him you said so…"

She laughed loudly. "You do that. I'm sure he'll think I'm a real catch."

"Well, if you're okay now, I should probably go find Colin. Who knows what kind of trouble he's getting into out there."

Surprisingly, Colin had managed to not have blown up the entire building while I was gone.

"We better get going," I told him. "It's getting late."

The car ride back home was much quieter. I even let Colin pick the radio station. All I could think about was Bridget's miscarriage. It was so horrible. She'd been through so much already and now this. How was that fair? I tried to imagine what I'd do if Jackie died, but I couldn't. It hurt too much.

"You know," I said. "We're pretty lucky."

Colin looked at me strangely. "If you say so."

"I'm serious. We have a healthy baby and supportive, loving family. What more could you ask for?"

"I guess we do have it pretty good," said Colin. "When you put it like that."

* * *

><p><em>So, another quick update! Sorry this chapter was so depressing. I'd like to be able to say that the next chapter will cheer you up, but it probably won't. <em>

_Also, if any of you are Justin Bieber fans, I'm sorry about that little bit about him. I couldn't help myself._

_Oh, and I almost forgot. I posted a photo of what I think baby Jackie looks like on my profile. Check it out._


	21. Chapter 21

"Holy shit! Vic, she's smiling at me!"

It was the last week of May. Jackie was nearly two months old. At the moment, Colin and I were currently sitting on the couch in my living room. For the past week, he had been at my house in nearly every moment of his spare time. He'd even taken to spending the nights on the couch, so that he was available to check on Jackie at night. This was because N.E.W.T.s were coming up. In a week I would be heading off to Hogwarts to take my exams and, to put it mildly, I was freaking out. Luckily, with Colin's help, I was able to pretty much study non-stop.

I peeled my eyes away from the Potions text book that I'd been staring at for hours. "What?"

"Jackie just smiled at me. I knew she liked me more than you!"

"She smiled?" I asked, setting my book aside and grabbing her. "Come on, sweetie," I cooed, "smile for mummy."

She just stared up at me, eyes wide and face blank.

"Come on," I said, "give mummy a big smile, like the one you gave daddy. But bigger."

Still nothing.

"She likes me more. This proves it," said Colin, smirking.

"She does not like you more, Colin," I snapped. "I'm her mother. I carried her inside me for nine months. I gave birth to her. I nurse her. She likes me more!"

"Then why did she smile at me first?"

"Shut up."

The day I left was extremely difficult for me. The longest I'd ever been away from Jackie was the one day that Colin and I went to Diagon Alley. Now I was to be gone for an entire week.

"I can't do this!" I wailed, standing in front of the fireplace that I was supposed to be stepping into to take me to Hogwarts.

"Darling, you 'ave to," said my mum, her voice soothing. She waved Jackie's arm back and forth at me. "Say bye to your mummy, Jackie."

"Bye, Jackie," I said, my voice cracking slightly. "Mummy will miss you. Mummy loves you."

She smiled at me.

And I bet it was a lot bigger than the smile she gave Colin.

When I arrived at Hogwarts, I immediately was headed to the Gryffindor common room, where Grace and Rox practically assaulted me as soon as came through the portrait hole.

Grace was particularly excited, since the last time she had seen me was when I left school.

"Tell me all about the baby!" she demanded.

For the next few hours, we sat around the common room talking about Jackie. I showed them photos that I'd taken of her.

"She's gorgeous, Vic," Said Grace. "And she's like a perfect mixture of you and Colin. I can't decide who she looks more like."

I laughed. "Well, Colin's mum is convinced she looks more like him. And my mum is convinced she looks more like me. And everyone else is undecided like you."

The conversation slowly drifted away from Jackie and towards boys. Grace filled me in on the latest with her and Aidan. Rox told me about a boy named Jack that she'd been on a few dates with. And I told them about my continued confusion regarding Teddy and Colin.

"The night before I went into labor, Teddy and I kissed," I told them.

Their eyes widened.

"Then he spent the night. In my bed. Clothes on and everything. We were just sleeping. But he told me that he'd always take me back if I ever wanted him to."

Rox let out a loud squeal.

"Hey, Rox, shut up!" shouted Aidan from across the common room. "Some of us are actually trying to study."

Rox responded with a rude hand gesture.

Grace rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. "Please continue, Vic."

"Well, things have been kind of awkward between us since then. I've been busy with the baby, so I don't get to see him much and when I do all we ever do is make meaningless small talk. Neither of us has mentioned the kiss yet."

"And where does Colin figure into all this?" asked Rox.

"Well, things with Colin are pretty much the exact opposite as they are with Teddy. I see him all the time and things couldn't be less awkward. I feel so comfortable around him."

''Interesting," murmured Rox.

"I think Colin and I are another reason things have been awkward between Teddy and I," I continued. "Teddy saw us, er... getting along pretty well at the Burrow on Easter and he didn't look to happy about it."

"Getting along pretty well?" asked Grace.

"Yeah, what the hell does that mean? I was at the Burrow and I don't remember this," added Rox. "Were you like making out or what?"

"No, nothing like that. We haven't snogged or anything yet. We were just messing around. He was tickling me and I was giggling… a lot."

"So you were flirting?" asked Rox.

"Maybe a little," I admitted.

"And Teddy saw?"

I nodded.

"Poor Teddy," murmured Grace.

I sighed. "Let's talk about something else. I want to hear more about this Jack bloke."

Rox grinned. "Well, he's in Hufflepuff. He's a sixth year like me. He's really nice; I think you'd like him…"

I leaned back in my seat, listening to Rox. It felt good to have girl friends to talk to again. I'd missed this. At that moment I felt content. Yes, I knew that in the morning I would have to wake up and start taking my exams. I knew that I should probably be doing some last minute studying. But, for the first time in months I felt relaxed. And I was going to enjoy it while I could.

My exams went better than I expected they would. During my Potions practical exam I was asked to brew a potion that Teddy had helped me with just a few days before Jackie was born. And it turned out exactly as it was supposed to. Even the examiner looked impressed.

All in all, when I stepped through the fire on Saturday morning to go home, I was feeling pretty sure that I had achieved a passing grade in every subject.

I stepped out of the fireplace into my kitchen. My mum greeted me warmly.

"Where's Jackie?" I asked her, after filling her in on all of my exams.

"At Colin's 'ouse," she replied. "She's been spending a lot of time zere with 'im. I 'ope zat's okay."

"Yeah, that's fine," I said. "I'll just head over there if that's okay with you. I'll be home for dinner."

She nodded absentmindedly. "Alright, darling."

"Vic!" said Colin, opening the door upon my arrival. "Hey, I didn't think you'd be back until this afternoon."

"I was anxious to see Jackie,'" I said, stepping inside.

"And me, right?"

I grinned. "Yeah, sure."

We headed up to his room.

"My mum dragged out my old crib from storage," said Colin, gesturing towards the crib set up in the corner, where Jackie was currently lying.

I walked over to it and lifted her out. "Hey, Jackie," I said, smiling widely. "Were you good while I was gone? Did you behave for daddy?"

"How were your exams?" asked Colin.

"They went really well, actually."

"I knew they would."

Jackie had fallen asleep in my arms. Why she couldn't do that during the night was a mystery to me. It would sure help me out a lot. I gently placed her back in the crib and went to sit down on Colin's bed.

"It's been a while since I was in your bedroom," I said, looking around. "It hasn't changed much."

Colin sat down next to me. "It's been eleven months since you told me you were pregnant. Almost a year."

"It's been eleven months since I was in here? That's crazy."

"Yeah."

I suddenly felt very awkward when it occurred to me what we had been doing in there at that time. On the very bed I was sitting on.

"Er, so… How's school going for you?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

"It's going pretty good. I'm graduating this month."

"Do you know what you're doing afterwards?"

"I'll start working at the store full-time," he replied. "Mr. Perkins, the owner, told me that I can start living in the room above it too, if I'd like. I think I will. It'll be nice to have my own place. Mum will try to make me feel guilty about it, but it's not like I'll be far away."

I nodded. "Sounds like you have things pretty well figured out. I wish I did."

"I'll be able to help support you and the baby more with the bigger paycheck I'll be getting."

I nodded again, as I lay back on his bed. "I'm so exhausted. I don't even remember what it feels like to get a good night's sleep anymore."

I adjusted his pillow and closed my eyes. I'd forgotten how comfortable his bed was.

"Vic?" asked Colin after a few minutes of silence.

"Mmm?"

"What would you do if I kissed you right now?"

I immediately sat up. "What?"

"Would you kiss me back? Or would you knee me in the groin or something?

For a minute I was tempted to say the latter, but then I realized I wasn't sure.

"Why don't you kiss me and find out?" I whispered.

"What if you hurt me?"

"I guess you just have to decide if I'm worth the risk," I replied.

He leaned in slightly, his eyes never leaving mine.

"Well?" I asked quietly. "Am I?"

"Yes, definitely," he said, before closing the distance between us.

For a second after his lips met mine, an image of Teddy flashed into my mind, accompanied by a slight feeling of guilt. But I quickly pushed them both aside and threw myself into Colin's kiss.

He tasted so familiar. It was almost as if I'd never stopped kissing him. He gently leaned me back until I was laying down, his body pinning me to his bed. As the snogging heated up, a voice in the back of my head was screaming at me to slow things down, but I ignored it. At some point, I allowed him to flip us over, so that I was straddling him. His hands were everywhere. My legs. My hair. Under my shirt. Somewhere along the line, articles of clothing began disappearing as well.

Eventually, I pulled back, panting heavily. Somehow, without me completely realizing it, we'd ended up in only our underwear.

"We need to stop," I murmured, my finger tracing over the song lyrics tattooed on his arm.

"Why?" he asked, pulling me closer and kissing my neck.

"Because we can't have sex."

"Why not?"

I pulled away from again. "We just can't."

"What the hell's stopping us?" he asked. "We're adults. We have a kid. If we want to shag, then we can."

That voice in my head was back, begging for me to say no. But the look that Colin was giving me was overpowering the voice. I'd always had trouble saying no to him.

"Come on, babe," he whispered.

_Babe_. He hadn't called me that since we had broken up all those months ago. Back when Jackie was just a tiny little speck inside me. Merlin, it felt good to hear him call me that again. Really good. The voice in my head had gone silent. All I could hear was our breathing.

"Okay," I mumbled, leaning in to kiss him again.

* * *

><p><em>Please don't kill me.<em>


	22. Chapter 22

I awoke to the sound of Jackie crying. I sat up immediately, untangling myself from Colin's sheets and glancing at the clock. It was three o'clock in the afternoon. Good, I still had at least three hours before I had to be home for dinner. Glancing over at Colin, I saw that he was still asleep. I had always liked the way he looked when he was asleep. So much more innocent than when he was awake.

I hopped out of bed and looked around frantically for my clothes. How did they get so scattered about?

I grabbed Colin's T-shirt and pulled it on. It smelled like him. Like cigarettes and cologne and something else I couldn't put my finger on. I hurried over to Jackie's crib and picked her up.

"Shhh," I whispered, rocking her back and forth.

I heard Colin moving about and I turned around. He was staring at me, a small smirk on his face.

"What?" I asked.

"I missed seeing you in my T-shirts," he replied. "You look sexy."

I felt my face heating up. "Shut up."

Jackie was still crying. "Shhh," I said, turning my attention back to her.

"Crap, I'm late!" Colin exclaimed suddenly.

I glanced up. "Late for what?"

"Band practice," he said, jumping out of bed and pulling on his underwear and jeans.

"Don't go. It's just one stupid practice."

He hurried over to his dresser and pulled out a different T-shirt.

"Babe, I've told you a million times how important my band is to me," he said, pulling it on. "Besides, I think we're on the verge of hitting it big."

Why did he always think that?

"And why is that?"

"Connor's been sleeping with this girl whose uncle is a pretty big music producer."

I rolled my eyes. "Isn't that how it always is? Connor's sleeping with someone who knows someone who has some connection to the music industry?"

"Maybe once or twice," said Colin. "But this time it's different."

"I seriously doubt this time is any different. I'm sure Connor is just as much of an unreliable player as he always has been and I'm sure this girl is just as much of an unreliable skank as all the other girls. And one of them will somehow mess everything up and you're whole band will be back where you started."

"No really, I met her. She seems…nice."

"If by nice you mean a crack whore, than yes, I'm sure she's nice."

"She's not a crack whore!" protested Colin. He paused. "I don't think."

I sighed.

"Babe, just think of it like this," he said. "If my band becomes successful, then I'll be able to support you and Jackie so much better. You wouldn't even have to worry about getting a job. Unless you just wanted to occupy your time. We could get a huge flat in London. I could buy you and Jackie whatever you wanted."

I shook my head. "Colin, come back to reality."

"Well, whether you approve or not, I'm going to band practice."

"Fine," I huffed. "When will you be back?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. It'll probably be pretty late. We'll all probably go to the pub afterwards."

"So no point in me waiting for you?"

"Probably not," he replied.

I nodded. "Well, Jackie and I will probably just go back to my house then. If you do get done before you expected, you can stop by. If you're not too drunk."

"Doubt there's much chance of that," he said, chuckling. He gave me a quick kiss. "See you tomorrow."

He kissed Jackie, who'd fallen asleep in my arms, on the forehead and then he was gone.

I sighed heavily, as I pulled off Colin's shirt and put on my own clothes. I carefully fixed my hair and make-up. "Come on, Jackie," I said, picking her up. "Let's go home."

We Apparated back to my house. I pushed open my front door and walked inside. I wandered into the living room and came to face to face with none other than Teddy Lupin.

I nearly dropped Jackie in surprise. "Teddy! What are you doing here?"

"Your mum invited my grandma and me over for dinner."

"Oh," I replied. "Er, isn't it a bit early for dinner?"

"We thought we'd come a little early. Grandma wanted to chat with your parents for a little bit. And introduce him to her 'gentleman friend.' Her words, not mine."

"Gentleman friend?"

He nodded. "Remember that muggle man I told you about a while ago. The one who fancied her?"

"Vaguely."

"Well, she finally decided to give him the time of day."

"Wow," I replied. "Has she even looked at another man since your grandpa died?"

"I don't think so," replied Teddy. "Not until now anyway."

"Well, I'm happy for her," I said. "It's nice that she's found someone to spend her time with. We all need companionship. No matter how old we are."

"Yeah, I'm happy for her too," he said. "He's a really nice guy."

"Well, I should go meet him," I said, heading for the door. "Are they in the kitchen?"

"Vic, wait."

I turned. "What?"

"Well, I just thought that since we're both in here alone, we should talk."

I suddenly felt nervous. "About what?"

"I think you know."

"The kiss."

He nodded. "Yup."

"Look, Teddy, that kiss was a mistake. We need to forget about it altogether. Pretend it never happened."

"Oh," said Teddy. "Er… yeah, that's what I thought too. I just… I just thought that I should make sure that we're on the same page."

"Well, good thing we are then," I replied, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

Teddy's gaze dropped to my neck. "What's that?"

"What's what?"

"The red mark on your neck."

I turned to look in the mirror that was hanging on the wall. There was indeed a red mark on my neck. A hickey. How did I not notice this before?

"Er, it's just a burn. I, erm, burnt myself straightening my hair this morning."

"Don't you use magic to do that?" I don't think he believed me.

"I just wanted to use a straightening iron this time. Is that okay with you?"

"But your hair isn't even straightened." He definitely didn't believe me.

"Fine!" I snapped. "You're right. It's not a burn. It's a hickey! You happy?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm bloody thrilled," he said.

I stared at him. At his turquoise hair and his tan skin and muscular build. And at his sad, blue eyes that were staring right back at me.

"Though I can't say I'm that surprised," he continued. "I saw the two of you on Easter. It was a surprise you didn't just rip off each other's clothes and go at it right there." He laughed bitterly.

"Teddy," I whispered. "Stop it."

He took a deep breath. "Sorry."

"This hasn't been easy for me," I said, my voice cracking slightly. "But Colin is Jackie's dad and I think it'll be good if the two of us can make things work."

He glanced down at Jackie, who was still asleep in my arms. "Yeah, I get that."

I felt a tear to trickle down my cheek.

"Hey, Vic, don't cry," said Teddy, reaching out and wiping my tear away.

"Do you think I'm stupid for trying to make things work with him?"

He shook his head. "I could never think you're stupid, Vic. Like you said, he's the father of your kid. It makes sense that you want to be with him."

"Yeah, but what if—"

"Do you love him?" asked Teddy suddenly, cutting me off.

I nodded slowly. _But I love you too,_ I wanted to shout. But I stayed silent.

Several different emotions passed over Teddy's face. Anger. Jealousy. Sadness. Then it was just blank. Expressionless.

"And does he love you?" he asked.

I thought back to a few hours earlier, lying in bed with Colin. I had been about to drift off to sleep, when I heard him murmur something that I couldn't hear.

"_What?" I asked._

"_I love you," he said, a little louder._

_I turned to look at him. "Really?"_

"_Never stopped," he replied._

I looked up at Teddy. "Yeah. He does."

"Well," said Teddy, his face still blank. "That's all that matters, I guess."

We stood there silently for a moment. I could hear the clock on the wall. Tick Tock. Tick Tock. I could hear Teddy's breathing and Jackie's breathing and my breathing. Everything sounded unnaturally loud.

"Come on," I finally said. "Introduce me to Andromeda's 'gentleman friend.'"

Teddy blinked. As if I'd pulled him out of some deep thought. "Oh, yeah, sure," he said. He began heading for the doorway. I stayed where I was, watching him go. I'd always loved the way he walked. There was something so confident about it. He didn't slouch. He walked with his back straight, his head held high, like he always knew where he was going. Like he knew where he wanted to be.

Colin always slouched.

Teddy turned. "You coming?" he asked, interrupting my thoughts.

"Yeah," I replied. And I followed him into the kitchen.

* * *

><p><em>Well, at least Teddy was actually in this chapter. But it probably didn't cheer you up much, did it?<em>

_But I hope you guys liked it anyway. Please review!_


	23. Chapter 23

The months passed by quicker than I expected them to. I'd returned to Hogwarts to graduate with my class in the third week of June. At the beginning of July, Colin moved into the flat above the store. Without meaning to, I had pretty much moved in with him. It had been a gradual thing. I just began spending more and more time there until one day I realized I hardly ever left. My personal hygiene items and makeup were scattered all over his bathroom. I had my own drawers for clothes. Jackie's crib and other things were there as well.

It was currently August 31. My brother and sister would be returning to Hogwarts the next day and my mum had decided that we needed to spend the entire day together as a family before they left, starting with breakfast. I was already dressed and ready. I'd Apparated Jackie to my house and then I'd returned to the flat to wake Colin.

"Colin, wake up," I said, walking over to the bed and shaking him.

He groaned, turning his head away from me. "No."

"Yes, you have to," I replied, shaking him harder.

He lifted his head slightly and looked at the clock. "It's only 8:45. Let me sleep."

"Colin, we're having breakfast with my parents today, remember? I told them that we'd be there by 9."

Colin sighed loudly as he stood up. He stretched, his arms over his head, yawning loudly.

"Could you hurry?" I asked. "I don't want to be late.

Fifteen minutes later, we headed downstairs. We walked into the dark store and Colin looked around, confused. "What time is?"

"9 o'clock," I replied.

"Connor's an idiot. He has the 9 o'clock shift. He was supposed to show up early and open this place up." Sighing, he pulled out his mobile and dialed a number. I watched as he tapped his foot impatiently, waiting for an answer. An answer that never came, apparently, because he angrily shoved his phone back in his pocket and looked around again. "Can we please stop by his flat really quick?" he asked.

We walked down the street to the building that Connor lived in. Colin knocked on his door. And waited. And knocked again. And waited.

"Colin, we're going to be late," I said impatiently.

"Just a minute," he replied. "I know where he keeps the key." He rustled around in a potted plant by the door for a second before emerging triumphant with the key. He unlocked the door and we both took a tentative step inside.

I immediately wrinkled my nose. "What's that smell?"

"That would be pot," replied Colin, looking angry. "Which shouldn't be surprising. Of course he's getting high when he supposed to be at work. Of course."

He stormed into the living room, with me following close behind. Connor was lying on the couch, with some girl I didn't recognize, but who I assumed was the girl that Colin had mentioned a few months ago. The one with the music producer uncle who was supposed to make their band famous.

"Hey, mate," said Connor when he saw Colin. "What are you doing here?"

"What are _you_ doing here?" asked Colin. "You're supposed to be at work!"

Connor smiled lazily, looking up at Colin with bloodshot eyes. "I can't go to work, mate. I'm drunk… and high. Can you work for me?"

"Connor, you're always doing this to me, mate. I can't always take over your shift when you're fucked up. I have somewhere to be."

"But, I'll get fired," he slurred.

"Well, maybe you should have thought of that before."

Connor ignored him and turned to the girl lying next to him. "Have you met Stacy?"

"Yes, Connor. Several times," replied Colin, sounding exasperated.

In response to this, Stacy began giggling hysterically. I watched as she fell right off the couch, hitting her elbow on the table on her way down, knocking a bunch of tiny pills off. She lay on the ground, half-dressed, and still laughing.

Colin stared at the pills lying on the ground, his mouth pressed together in a thin line. I wondered what kind of pills they were. I supposed they were the illegal kind. After a moment, Colin pulled his gaze away from them and redirected it to Connor. "She's a lovely girl," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Seems very classy," I added, speaking for the first time since we'd gotten there.

Colin snorted loudly.

"Vic!" Connor exclaimed, as if he'd only just noticed I was there. "Hey!"

"Hey, Connor," I replied, giving a nervous wave.

Connor turned back to Colin. "You have to take over my shift, mate. It's time last time I'll ever ask, I swear."

"Connor…"

"I can't go to work like this. You can. You're not drunk."

"That's because it's 9 am, Connor. Of course I'm not drunk."

"And I know you're not high," continued Connor. "Cos perfect little Colin never does drugs."

"Fine!" snapped Colin. "I'll take over your stupid shift. But you owe me."

I stood there uncomfortably. I found myself staring at Stacy, who was still lying on the ground, wondering if she's fallen asleep or passed out.

"Come on, Vic," said Colin, grabbing my hand. "Let's get out of here."

Soon we were hurrying down the street, back towards the store. I snuck a glance at Colin. He looked extremely annoyed.

"Colin?" I asked tentatively.

"What?"

"Do you really not do drugs?" I asked.

Colin stopped walking and turned to look at me. "Have you ever seen me do drugs?"

"Well, no," I replied, "but I kinda always assumed you did. You know, when I wasn't around and you were off with your friends."

"Well obviously, the opportunity has presented itself countless times. All my friends do. But I've seen what drugs can do to a person and I can't let that happen to me." He squinted, staring off into the distance, looking lost in thought. "You remember when I told you that my dad was an alcoholic who left me and my mum?"

I nodded.

"Well, he left when I was ten. I've only seen him once since then. When I was fourteen. He showed up at my house, out of the blue, one day. And… well, not only was he still a drunken idiot, he was also a drug dealer. And he tried to get me to buy some. Do you know how fucked up that is? A father trying to sell his fourteen year old son drugs?"

"Merlin," I whispered. "That's horrible."

"And that's not even the worst of it," continued Colin. "When I told him to get the hell away from me, I didn't want his drugs and I didn't have any money anyway, he told me to steal the money. From my mum." He paused, as if letting that sink in. "Not only was he trying to sell me drugs. He was trying to get me to take my mum's hard earned money to help support his drug and alcohol habit."

I shook my head, unable to think of anything to say.

"This is why I freaked out when you told me you were pregnant. Half my genes come from that bastard. I didn't think there was any possible way I could be a dad."

"Colin, you're nothing like him."

He took a deep breath. "You should get to your parents' house. They're probably wondering where you are." At that moment we arrived at the store. Colin pulled out his key and walked inside, flipping the sign on the door to "Open" and turning on the lights.

"Tell your parents that I apologize for not being able to make it. Tell them it's because Connor is a freaking dumbarse."

"He's your best friend, Colin."

"That doesn't mean he's not an idiot. He's gonna screw up his life if he's not careful." He sighed, looking around the store. "When did this happen?"

I looked around, confused. "When did what happen?"

"When did we grow up? It seems like just yesterday Connor and I were seven years old and running around on the beach together and watching Power Rangers on the telly. And now he's shacked up with some girl and doing drugs. And I have a kid and I'm living with you. I just don't remember actually growing up. It just happened."

"Yeah, it did, didn't it?" I said. "When you're a kid you spend a lot of your time wishing you were an adult. Then one day you sort of wake up and realize it happened already and you missed it. You're an adult and you don't even remember how or when it happened."

The door chimed, signaling the first customer of the day. Colin nodded at the man who walked in and headed to his spot behind the counter. "You were right, you know."

"About what?"

"About Stacy. She probably is a crack whore."

"Yeah," I said, leaning up against the counter. "Probably."

"She's not going to be any help with our band."

"No. probably not."

"I hate this town," said Colin. "We're never going to break into the music business here. We need to go to London. Or America. Or anywhere but this damn town."

"Colin," I said, reaching across the counter and grabbing his hand. "It'll be alright."

He shook his head. "I need to get out of here. Soon. I f I don't leave now, I never will. And I'll be stuck here for the rest of my life. Old and miserable and full of regrets."

I opened my mouth to reply, but the man who had walked in earlier approached the counter to pay.

"You should go," said Colin. "It's 9:30. You're late for breakfast."

I leaned over the counter, meaning to give him a quick kiss, but when our lips met, I melted into him. His hands moved to cup my cheeks. I wished the damn counter wasn't in between us.

_Ahem._

We broke apart. The man was standing there, clutching his basket of food and looking annoyed. "If you two are quite finished, I'd like to pay."

"Sorry," I said. "I was just leaving." I hurried outside, where I spun on my heel and Apparated home.

* * *

><p><em>Sorry about the lack of Teddy in this chapter.<em>

_Please review! _


	24. Chapter 24

When Jackie's first birthday arrived, I could hardly believe it.

One year.

How had it been a year since I'd given birth?

Her birthday party was at the Burrow. My grandma made her a huge cake. After getting cake all over her face, she then proceeded to pick up large bits of it and chuck them at anyone in sight. She hit Teddy in the eye, which seemed to amuse Colin greatly. But later when she toddled over to Colin and threw up on his foot, I swear there were tears in Teddy's eyes, he was laughing so hard.

She got lots of presents. But after they had all been opened and she was surrounded by books, and dolls, and stuffed animals, and every other kind of toy imaginable, she immediately reached for a bow and stuck it in her mouth. All the shiny, expensive, new toys apparently had nothing on a giant, pink bow.

It was a pretty good day, but everything went downhill once Colin and I returned home.

I was changing Jackie in to her pajamas, which my uncle Ron had gotten for her (they had tiny little broomsticks and snitches on them), when she uttered her first word. Which would have been exciting, except for one little problem…

It was the F-word.

"Colin!" I screamed.

I heard the toilet flush, and a second later Colin came ambling into the room.

"What?" he grunted.

"Jackie just said her first word," I told him, trying to remain calm and not strangle him with my bare hands.

"Really?" he asked, grinning. "That's brilliant. What was it?"

"The F-word."

Colin's smile vanished. "Oh god."

"This is your fault!" I hissed. "Where do you think she heard that word?"

I finished pulling on her pajamas and lay her down in her crib. I turned off the lights and stormed out the room, Colin following close behind.

"Babe," he whined, "it's fine. It's not like anyone has to know. She'll say her second word soon and then we'll be able to tell everyone that her first word was 'dada.'"

"That is not going to be her second word!" I snarled, walking into the living room/kitchen/dining room portion of our flat and sitting down. "And no one else may ever know, but I will. I'll know that my precious, sweet baby girl's first word was a vulgar word for sex! How do you think that makes me feel?"

"You're overreacting, Victoire!" he snapped.

He used my full name. I could tell he was angry.

I turned away from him and turned on the telly, trying to distract myself with whatever ridiculous muggle show was on. I heard Colin stand up. "I'm going to bed," he said. "I'll see you in the morning."

I stood up and turned to look at him. "How about this," I said, crossing my arms. "I go to bed and you sleep on the couch."

His eyebrows shot up in the air. "This is my flat. You cannot tell me where to sleep."

"I live here too!"

"But I pay the rent. Because you don't have a job!"

"I have to take care of our baby, remember?"

"Oh, I remember all right. It's the baby that almost every penny I earn goes to support."

"Well, if you wanted some pocket money then maybe you shouldn't have gotten me pregnant!"

"You know, my mum always says that it takes two to tango. You were just as responsible for the pregnancy as I was. It wasn't like I forced you into anything. If I recall correctly, you were pretty damn eager. We'd only been dating for two months before you let me fuck you."

I was so mad that I could feel myself shaking. "If you don't shut up right now, I will hex you into oblivion."

"You know, the couch is sounding pretty good right now," he said, lying back down. I turned to leave. "Can you hit the light on your way out?" he called after my retreating figure.

"No!" I snarled, slamming the door to the bedroom. I stood there for a minute, breathing heavily, Colin's awful words echoing in my head. He hadn't said such nasty things to me since I had told him I was pregnant. A year and nine months ago.

I threw myself down on the bed. The bed we normally shared. The bed that now felt very big and very empty. I cried myself to sleep.

The next morning, Colin was nowhere to be found. He was supposed to be working, but when I wandered downstairs, I found Connor behind the counter instead.

"Hey, Vic," he said.

"Where's Colin?" I asked, walking over to him.

"Dunno," he replied, reaching out to tickle Jackie's stomach and grinning when she began to giggle. "He just texted me a couple of hours ago and said he needed me to take over his shift. I figured I owed him."

I sighed. "Alright, thanks anyway."

I headed back to my parent's house where I pretty much spent the next week. Grace came over and listened to me rant about awful boys were. I wished that I could see Rox, but she was still at school. I decided that I really did need to get a job. It didn't seem write to solely depend on Colin to provide for my baby when he and I were barely speaking.

After asking around, I finally found an opening at Flourish and Blotts in Diagon Alley. My mum agreed to watch Jackie when I was working, as long as I agreed to pay for everything she would need and I wouldn't ask her to babysit at any other time.

A week after our fight, I headed back to our flat to tell Colin about my job, hoping that we could work things out and I could move back in. I knew that he had said some pretty awful things and that forgiving him so soon might seem odd to some. Like Grace, for example. "Let him come to you," she'd told me. But after a week of not seeing him, I'd been able to cool off and realized that maybe I had overreacted. It was just a word, after all. A word she didn't even know the meaning of. Besides, we'd both been pretty angry. People say things they don't mean when they're angry.

I pulled out my key and unlocked the door. I stepped inside and found him sitting in front of the television, eyes glued to the screen. I set Jackie down and she wandered away to play with her toy.

"Hey," I said when he looked up.

"Hey."

I sat down beside him. "I got a job."

He was silent for so long that I was sure that he was still angry. Finally though, he took a deep breath. "So did I."

"You already have a job," I replied, confused.

"I got a better one."

His vagueness was annoying me. "Where?"

"In London."

"London?"

He nodded.

London was so far away. Granted, my job was there as well, but I could Apparate to and from in a matter of seconds. Colin couldn't. And besides, Colin had taken this job without knowing I had gotten a job there too.

"I don't understand," I said.

"My entire band is moving there. We're going to have a lot more opportunities there. Ones that we don't have here. We found a cheap flat that we're all going to live in and we all have jobs lined up.

The room suddenly felt extremely hot. I opened my mouth to say something, but found that I couldn't get any words to come out of my mouth.

"You could come to, if you'd like."

I shook my head. "I'm not moving into some crowded flat in London with you and three other guys," I said quietly.

"Yeah, I didn't think you would."

Then why are you doing this?" I asked, my voice shaking.

"I already told you. We'll have better opportunities there."

"But you're leaving me. You're leaving Jackie."

He sighed. "I know it's awful, but I think you two will be better off without me. I'm just a screwed-up kid. Ask anybody. I' m not able to be a dad. I thought I could, but last week when Jackie said that word, I realized I'm not cut out for it."

"Colin, I overreacted, like you said. It's not that big of a deal."

"Vic, you have a job now. You don't need me. This is better for both of us, trust me."

"How is this better?" I nearly shouted. "You're moving to London. And the way you're talking, it sounds like you're trying to cut yourself out of Jackie's life completely. London isn't that far away, we can visit you. You're not moving to Siberia."

"I'm sorry…"

"This is not okay!" I said, definitely shouting now. "Fatherhood is an all-or-nothing deal. When you said that you wanted to be part of Jackie's life, that meant for forever, not for a year."

"I'm sorry," he repeated, "but the two of you deserve better than me. It's not just the fact that she got that word from me. It's everything about me. Look at my friends. Look at Connor. That's not the kind of lifestyle I want her to be exposed to. She deserves better." He paused, looking straight at me. "Go back to Teddy. He's a good guy. Better than me."

I felt the tears running down my cheeks. "I think you're making a huge mistake," I told him.

"I don't think I am."

At that moment, Jackie came tottering over, stopping directly in front of Colin. She smiled widely. "Dada!" she squealed.

Her second word.

Colin was right.

He froze for a moment, completely caught off guard. I wondered if he was second-guessing his decision. He bit his lip as he reached down and picked her up. "Daddy loves you," he told her. "Daddy's sorry he's leaving. But Daddy thinks you'll be better off without him."

Jackie stared up at him, her blue eyes wide, not understanding a thing he was telling her. Colin reached out and brushed a tendril of her jet-black hair out of her eyes. He opened his mouth as if to say something else, but then he closed it again and set her back down. She immediately went back to her toy, completely unaware that her entire life was changing right in front of her.

I turned to Colin. "So this is goodbye, then?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I think so."

"Goodbye," I whispered.

He leaned in, planting a small kiss on my lips. When his lips met mine, I nearly forgot everything that was happening and reacted out of habit by kissing him back. Then my mind snapped back to reality and I reluctantly pulled away. My hand, which had somehow made its way to his arm, remained there. He stared down at my fingers, which were digging into his bicep. "You need to let go, Vic," he murmured.

As ridiculous as it seems, I almost began laughing right then. Because it sounded so metaphorical. So deep. Like, not only did I need to let go of his arm, I also needed to let go of us. Of our relationship.

I slowly pulled my arm back. "I really hate you," I said, wiping the tears out of my eyes.

He shook his head. "No, you don't."

I let out a sob. "You're right. I don't. And I hate that I don't. Because this is the second time that you've broken my heart into a million pieces. And yet, I can't stop loving you. I hate that I don't hate you."

He stared at me, with those damn green eyes of his. For a second all I could think about was how glad I was that Jackie didn't have his eyes. Because I don't think I would have been able to stand looking at her everyday and seeing Colin's intense gaze staring back.

I stood up, scooped up Jackie and headed for the door. As I opened it, I told myself not to look back. _Don't look back. Don't look back._ It was like a chant echoing in my head._ Don't look back. _But as I stepped through the doorway, I couldn't help but turn around. Because I'd never been much good at listening to my head. My heart always seemed to take over.

Colin was sitting on the couch, staring at us. And I may have been imagining things, but I could have sworn that there were tears in his eyes.

I slowly turned back around, closing the door behind me. "Come on, Jackie," I said. "Let's go home."

* * *

><p><em>Please, please review. They mean so much to me.<em>


	25. Chapter 25

I pushed open the door of Shell Cottage, tears in my eyes. All I wanted to do was lie down on my bed, burrow under all the covers, and stay there. I didn't want to talk to anyone. I didn't even want to see anyone. I just wanted to wallow in self-pity all by myself.

But, fate seemed to have other plans for me. Because when I walked into my house, who did I bump into?

Teddy Lupin.

Of course.

Why did seem that whenever something major involving Colin happened, Teddy was always at my house afterward? He'd been here after I told Colin I was pregnant. He'd been here when I went to see Colin behind his back. He'd been here after I slept with Colin after getting back from my N.E.W.T.s. I was beginning to sense a pattern.

He took one look at me. At my tear-streaked face. At the sadness in my eyes. At the way I was clutching Jackie to me, like if I let go then she would leave me as well. And his face immediately was filled with concern.

"What did he do to you?" he asked, his voice low. His expression angry.

"He left," I replied, my voice quivering. I felt my entire body shaking. Teddy reached out, taking Jackie from me.

"Left?" he asked. "You mean for good?"

I nodded slowly.

_For good._ Hearing Teddy say those two words out loud made it suddenly seem more real. Colin was gone. And he wasn't coming back.

"But… but, it's been a year. Why would leave now?"

I shook my head. "I don't know," I whispered. "I don't know."

Teddy opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted when Jackie grabbed a large chunk of his hair and pulled, giggling loudly.

"Jackie, sweetie, stop that," said Teddy, pulling her hand away. "Pulling hair isn't nice."

She looked up at him, completely unashamed, and smiled widely. "Ted-dy," she cooed.

Was she seriously going to say everybody's name before mine?

Teddy's eyes widened. "She just said my name!"

"Her third word," I replied.

"Third? What were the other two?" he asked.

"Well, her second word was 'dada', which she said literally minutes after he informed us that he was leaving us forever."

"Merlin," said Teddy, "that must have been terrible."

"Pretty much."

"And her first word?" he asked.

I shook my head. "I don't want to talk about it."

He looked confused. "Er, alright."

I sighed. "So are you here for dinner?" I asked. "I swear, nobody ever bothers to tell me when you're coming over."

He laughed. "Well actually, this time was a surprise for your parents as well. My grandmother wanted to stop by to give them her news."

"What news?"

"She and Arnold are getting married."

Arnold was Andromeda's 'gentleman friend.'

My mouth dropped open. "That's excellent," I exclaimed.

"Yeah, everybody's in the kitchen. You should come give them your congratulations."

"Definitely," I said, turning towards the kitchen.

"She's really happy," said Teddy. "Basically she and Arnold been going around from house to house telling everybody. I told them that they should just write letters, but I think they like being able to see everyone's excitement for themselves. We went to the Potter's house first this morning. Lily has already decided that she should be able to plan the wedding, even though she's only eleven. Luckily, we were able to convince her that she'll be too busy, seeing as she's starting at Hogwarts in the fall."

I laughed, pushing open the door to the kitchen. Lily Potter had always been one of the most romantic people in the family. She was always reading fairytales and daydreaming about marrying Teddy. She couldn't wait to start school and meet some handsome Gryffindor boy who would sweep her off her feet and ride off into the sunset with her. Who she would then proceed to dump for Teddy once she was old enough. She was always asking Rose, who was two years older than her, what the boys a Hogwarts were like, which would always lead to Rose complaining about Scorpius Malfoy.

Sometimes I envied Lily. She was so young, so naïve. In her mind it would be so easy to find her knight in shining armor. She didn't know what boys were really capable of. How they could make you love them so easily. And then shatter your heart once you realize that they're no knight. Not even close.

In the kitchen, I hugged Andromeda, told her how happy I was for her. I kissed Arnold on the cheek, told him that I knew he's make her happy. I smiled and laughed and pretended for a moment that my life was perfectly normal. That Colin wasn't gone. That I was happy and in love like them.

Afterwards, Teddy and I walked down to the beach. We spread out a blanket and sat down, staring up at the stars. I told him about Jackie's first word. About my fight with Colin. About what Colin has said to me today about why he was leaving.

Teddy always seemed to know exactly what to say. His words always made me feel better. He was so kind. So charming. So smart and handsome. Sure, he had his flaws. He could be bossy. He could be arrogant. He could be too flirty with other girls. Maybe he wasn't a knight in shining armor. But he was pretty damn close.

So after I told him everything, when we were sitting in silence, I turned toward him and leaned in. I wanted to feel his lips against mine again. I wanted him.

But, just as our lips were about to meet, he pulled away. "What are you doing?" he murmured.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" I asked. "I'm trying to kiss you."

He scooted away slightly. "No. That's not happening."

I scooted toward him. "Why not?"

He stood up. "Because, Vic."

I stood up as well. "But the night before I went into labor, you said that if I wanted to be with you again, that you would take me back. That you would _always_ take me back."

"And I meant that," he replied. "But only if you truly wanted to be with me as well."

"I do want to be with you," I replied. "Why else would I try to kiss you?"

He shook his head. "No, Vic. You don't want to be with me. Not truly. I know what's really happening here. Colin just broke your heart. Again. Last time he did that, after you told him you were pregnant, you came running to me. You told me that you loved me. You snogged me. You became my girlfriend. But as soon as Colin was back in the picture, you dumped me. You went back to him. Not immediately, but you did. And now he's out of the picture again. So here you are. Telling me you want me again. I'm your rebound. I'm the guy you choose when you can't be with Colin. But I don't want to be that guy this time."

I shook my head. "No, you're wrong. It's not like that all."

"Then explain to me what it really is," he asked, his voice low. "Because it sure seems like that to me."

" I've always had a lot of trouble choosing between you and Colin," I said. "It was never like he was _the one _and you were just some rebound. I honestly loved you both. But I thought being with Colin would be the better choice. Because he's Jackie's father. But now he's gone. And you're here. And I've realized that you've always been here. You've been here for me through everything. All through my pregnancy, even after I broke up with you. All through this first year of Jackie's life. Colin's let me down. Twice. But you never have. You've always been here for me. And you always will be. So I've realized that I don't have to choose between you and Colin anymore. Because there is no choice. It's just you. It's always been you. I was just too blind to see it."

I stopped talking, wiping the tears out of my eyes and looking up at Teddy. He was staring at me, a small smile on his face.

"I love you," I whispered.

"Merlin, Vic," he murmured in reply, "I love you too." He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close. "So much."

Our lips met and we kissed softly. I never wanted to let go of him. Maybe he wasn't quite perfect. But he was perfect for me.

* * *

><p><em>YAY! Teddy and Vic!<em>

_So, are you guys fans of the Hunger Games? Have you seen the movie? What did you think? I saw it last night and I thought it was amazing._


	26. Chapter 26

A few months later, on my day off from Flourish and Blotts, I was sitting in the living room floor, reading to Jackie when I heard someone pounding on the door. I stood up and set Jackie down in her playpen.

"Coming!" I shouted, hurrying to door, as the frantic pounding continued.

I pulled open the door and found myself face to face with a disheveled-looking Grace. Her hair was pulled back into a sloppy ponytail, she was wearing no makeup, and she looked like she'd been crying.

"Grace, what's wrong?" I asked, stepping aside and letting her through the door.

"Aidan dumped me," she whimpered.

_Aidan_ dumped_ her_? That didn't seem right. The other way around might have been a possibility. But the Aidan I knew would never break up with Grace.

I led her into the living room and sat her down on the couch. "What do you mean Aidan dumped you?"

She took a few breaths, trying to calm down, before finally speaking. "He said that he didn't think that I was committed enough to our relationship and… and that he sometimes felt like I didn't love him anymore." She paused, pulling a tissue from her pocket and blowing her nose loudly. "But, that's not true!" she exclaimed, tossing it aside. I wrinkled my nose as nearly hit my leg. "You know I love him, right?"

"Right," I said, "of course I know that."

She buried her face in her hands. "It's just that recently he keeps talking about marriage and kids and our future together and it was kind of freaking me out, you know? I'm only nineteen. I don't want to get married yet. I want to focus on my career for a few years, and then get married when I'm twenty-five or so." She looked up at me. "But I guess he took my reluctance at the idea of marriage as a sign that I didn't want to be with him at all. So he broke up with me."

I patted her arm sympathetically. "It'll be alright, Grace. I'm sure he'll come running back to you as soon as he cools down a little bit and realizes that he can't stand to be away from you for more than two minutes at a time."

"Well, I thought the same thing you did, which is why I didn't tell you about this sooner. It actually happened two days ago. I figured he'd come back. But he hasn't."

At that moment, there was another knock on the door.

I stood up and headed to the door. I opened it and found Rox standing there.

Rox had recently graduated from Hogwarts. She had gotten a job at the Ministry and she and her boyfriend Jack were still going strong.

"Hey, Rox," I said. "What are you doing here?"

"I need to tell you something. It's really important." She looked extremely nervous and was fidgeting around with the bracelet on her wrist.

"Oh my god," I whispered. "Are you pregnant?"

"What? No, of course not!"

"Oh, okay. Good," I said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"It's about Grace," she whispered.

"You mean about Aidan dumping her?"

"No," she said. "I mean, it relates to that. But I figured you already knew about the actual break-up."

"I just found out," I said, my voice low. "Grace is actually in the living room right now."

Rox's eyes widened. "Well, she can't hear this."

I bit my lip. "Hey, Grace," I called loudly. "I'll be there in a minute; I just need to check on something outside really quick."

"Alright," she called back.

I grabbed Rox and pulled her outside.

"Well?" I asked.

She hesitated for a moment. "I was just in Diagon Alley," she began. "And guess who I saw sitting outside the ice cream parlor with his tongue shoved down Bridget McCutcheon's throat?"

I gasped. "Aidan was snogging Bridget?"

She nodded.

"Merlin's beard!" I exclaimed. "I really was expecting him to come running back to Grace at any moment now. I didn't think he was actually going to move on to someone else. And especially not to Bridget."

"What are we going to tell Grace?" asked Rox. "Should we tell her at all?"

"I wouldn't worry too much about that," came a voice from the doorway.

We both spun around. Grace was standing inside the doorway, arms folded. "I heard everything."

"Oh, Grace," I whispered. "I'm so sorry."

Her face crumpled and she let out a strangled sob. Rox and I both looked at each other helplessly. Then we walked over to her and wrapped our arms around her. We stood like that for at least five minutes. Until I pulled back and said, "Come on, let's go inside and get some ice cream."

The Grace and Aidan thing kept plaguing me throughout the week. On Saturday evening I was Teddy's flat. We were on his bed and he was doing incredible things to my neck with his mouth, but for some reason I couldn't concentrate. All I wanted to do was find Aidan and slap some sense into him.

I pulled away from Teddy and sat up, tugging my shirt down and fixing my hair.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

I looked at him. "What do you think?" I asked.

"Are you still worrying about Grace and Aidan?" he asked.

"Yes! Aidan is making such a stupid mistake! Those two are made for each other."

"You know what other two people are made for each other? Us. So how about you just forget about Grace and Aidan and let them sort out their own relationship problems, so that you can focus on _your _relationship." He leaned over and kissed me. "Please?"

"Teddy, stop," I whined. "This is serious."

He sighed. "Vic, it's 9 o'clock on a Saturday night. There's nothing you can do to help them tonight. So at least just wait until tomorrow, okay?"

I sighed. "Fine," I grumbled.

He grinned, leaning into kiss me again. I slowly leaned backwards, until I was lying down. He hovered over me, supporting his weight with his arms. "I promise I'll make your stay worthwhile," he whispered.

I smiled up at him. "You better."

When I awoke the next morning, I poked Teddy in the shoulder. "Teddy," I hissed.

"What?" he mumbled.

"I'm going to leave now. I'm going to Aidan's."

He rolled over and stared at me. "Vic, it's 8 o'clock in the morning."

"I don't care," I replied, standing up and pulling off my nightgown. "I've sat by and watched Grace being miserable for a week and I can't stand not doing anything about it."

"But, can't you wait until a bit later in the day?"

"Nope," I said, pulling my shirt cover my head.

He sighed. "Of course not."

I tugged on my pants, skipped over to the bed, and planted a kiss on Teddy's cheek. "Bye."

I hurried into the other room and pulled Jackie out of the crib that Teddy had gotten for her for occasions such as these.

"Mama!" she exclaimed, smiling up at me.

Jackie had finally gotten around to saying my name of a couple months ago. I had been pretty excited.

I Apparated to Rox's house first and convinced her to look after Jackie for me, and then I Apparated to Diagon Alley, landing right in front of the store that Aidan's flat was located above.

I knocked on his door, knowing that I was probably waking him up, but not really caring.

What I didn't expect, but looking back on it, probably should have, was for Bridget to answer the door. She stood there in the doorway, her hair a mess, wearing only Aidan's button-up shirt.

"Er, hello," I said awkwardly. "Could you go get Aidan for me? I need to speak to him."

"Yeah, sure," she replied, tossing her hair over her shoulder and turning around.

"Bridget, wait," I said.

She turned back around. "What?"

"Why are you doing this?" I asked. "You know he doesn't love you, right?"

"Yeah, so?" she replied, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I just don't get why you never seem to have any self-respect. Or even seem to _try_ to have any."

She shrugged. "Why would I? Look at me. Nobody respects me, so why should respect myself?"

"Well, that's your problem right there," I replied. "You have to respect yourself before anybody else respects you."

She looked at me for a minute. "Maybe," she said, "I just don't care." Then she turned and disappeared into another room.

I stepped into the flat and walked over to a couch, sitting down. A moment later, Aidan appeared.

"Hey, Vic," he said, sitting down beside me. "Erm, so, why are you here?"

"Why do you think?" I asked.

"Grace," he said simply.

"Yes, of course," I replied. "What the hell were you thinking? Why in the world would you dump her? I know how much you love her! How much you've always loved her!"

"Yeah, well, that was the problem, you know. Here I am, desperately in love with her, while she practically seems indifferent. Every time I'd mention the marriage or our future in any way, she'd just change the subject. It's not easy being with someone who doesn't love you as much as you love them. It hurts too much. I didn't want to stay with her, if she was just constantly going to push me away. If there's no future for us, then I'm not going to stick around and risk getting hurt even more."

"But she does love you," I replied. "She said that she does want to marry you, but she just wants to wait a few years."

"Well, she never bothered to tell me that," he said. "So why should I believe it?"

I stared at him. "So you're really just going to let her go? You're not going to fight for her?"

"I've tried, Vic. But it's hard to fight for someone who doesn't want you to win."

"Well, why are you with Bridget?" I asked. "If you thought Grace didn't love you, then you surely can't be delusional enough to think that she does?"

"No, I know she doesn't. Neither of us expect anything from the other, so there's no way either of us can get hurt."

"I wouldn't be too sure of that," I said. "Bridget is already more hurt than you know. She deserves a guy who loves her for her."

"Yeah, well, it's not my fault that she doesn't have any interest in finding a guy like that."

"You're right, I don't," said Bridget, appearing in the doorway. "Because a guy like that doesn't exist."

She was dressed now, and I watched as she pulled out a cigarette from her bag. I wrinkled my nose as she lit it.

"What?" she asked. "You have a problem with me smoking?"

"Yes, I do," I replied. "It's disgusting and so… muggle."

She laughed. "I'm gonna go, Aidan."

"Alright," he replied.

She turned to me and her face softened a bit. "You know," she said. "I haven't forgotten how you helped me out after I got pregnant. And I really do appreciate your concern; I just think I'm a loss cause."

I shook my head. "No, you're not." I looked over at Aidan, wondering where the boy who had held her in that dark, empty classroom after she had found out she was pregnant and comforted her had gone. He seemed so indifferent to her pain now.

Aidan bit his lip. "She's right, you know. You're not a lost cause. I'm sure there's a guy out there who would love to be with you."

Maybe that boy was still there after all.

She shook her head. "You're both crazy," she said, heading for the door. "Completely crazy."

After she had left, I stood up. "So there's no chance of me convincing you to take Grace back?"

He shook his head. "Not today."

"Tomorrow?"

He laughed. "I doubt it."

I nodded. "Fine, but she does love you. And you're breaking her heart."

"She broke mine first."

I sighed. "Well, if you won't get back with Grace, will you at least do something else for me?"

"What?"

"Help Bridget. She needs to understand that she's not worthless. Please, try to get her to realize that."

He nodded. "Alright. I'll try."

I smiled a little. "Good."

As I stepped outside into the warm, summer sun, I decided not to head immediately home. Instead I walked out into the streets of muggle London. I did this often. At least once a week, after I finished working. I would wander around aimlessly for hours.

I knew it was stupid, but in the back of my head I knew I was doing it in the hopes of seeing Colin. London was huge. Millions of people lived there and I knew that there was almost no chance that I would even catch a glimpse of him. Especially not that morning. Because the chances of him being awake before noon on a Sunday morning were practically zero. But I couldn't help myself.

I didn't know what I would do if I were ever to spot him. I would probably just hurry away in the other direction. There was no way I'd actually talk to him. Or even let him see me.

I sighed, standing there on an unfamiliar street corner in the midst of a crowd of muggles, and realized how stupid I was being. This needed to stop. Colin was gone. I had Teddy. I had Jackie. I had my family and my friends. I didn't need him anymore.

And so I Apparated home.

* * *

><p><em>So Teddy and Victoire are together and happy now... but Aidan and Grace have broken up. Sorry about that.<em>

_I think that there are probably three chapters including an epilogue left._

_Please review!_


	27. Chapter 27

It was amazing how fast two years could go by. Jackie was three. I was twenty-one. And yet it didn't really seem possible. I was twenty-one and yet sometimes I didn't really feel any older than the seventeen-year-old girl sitting on her bed, clutching that pregnancy test, scared out of her mind.

I supposed that in some ways not much had changed in the past two years. Yes, Jackie was older and I had moved in with Teddy, but other than that there weren't many differences. I still worked at Flourish and Blotts. Teddy still worked at the Ministry. Colin was still out of the picture. Grace and Aidan were still broken up. We were all a little older, but sometimes I felt we weren't much wiser.

It was April, and I was currently lying awake in bed, unable to sleep. There was a thought that I couldn't get out of my mind. It was a thought that had been plaguing me for months and I needed to get it off my chest.

"Teddy," I whispered. "Teddy, wake up. I need to tell you something."

He grunted, rolling around so that he was facing away from me.

"Teddy!" I hissed, whacking his arm. "Wake up!"

He groaned loudly, rolling back over so that he was looking at me. "What?"

"I need to tell you something," I said.

He stared at me. "You need to tell me something?"

I nodded. "Yes."

He glanced over at the clock. "It's 3:30 in the morning. Can't whatever it is wait?"

"No," I replied.

"Fine. What do you need to tell me?"

"I think we should get married," I blurted out.

He stared at me for a moment, eyes wide and not blinking.

"What do you think?" I asked nervously.

"Is this just a suggestion or is this your idea of a proposal?" he finally asked.

I paused, considering that question. Was I proposing to him? It was the 21st century. A girl could propose to a guy if she wanted to. And yet, ever since I was a little girl, I'd dreamed of a guy proposing to me. It would be romantic. Fit for a fairytale.

"Er," I said. "I don't know… I...erm…"

He reached over and pulled open the drawer of the table beside our bed. "I was waiting for the perfect time to do this, but since you've brought it up, I guess now's as good a time as any," he said, rustling around inside of it for a moment.

After a moment, he emerged with a small, gray box.

My breath hitched. My heart sped up. "Is that… is that what I think it is?"

"Well that depends. What do you think it is?" he said, smiling.

"A ring," I whispered.

He nodded.

"How long have you had it?" I asked.

"A few weeks," he responded. He paused. "So what do you think?"

"About what?"

"Do you want the ring or not?" he asked.

"Is that _your _idea of a proposal? Merlin, Teddy, that was worse than mine. If you're gonna propose to me, do it right."

"Fine," he said, sitting up more and clearing his throat.

"Get down on your knee."

He lifted an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

"Seriously."

He slipped off the bed and lowered himself down onto his knee. I crawled over to the edge of the bed and looked at him expectedly.

He took a deep breath. "Er, I had planned on coming up with what I would say to you beforehand, but I guess now I'll just have to wing it."

I smiled at him. "Winging it is better. More sincere."

"I suppose," he said. He reached out and took my hand. His blue eyes met mine and he smiled that beautiful smile of his. That smile that could make every girl in the world melt into a pile of goo, but that was reserved only for me.

"Victoire Fleur Weasley," he began, "I've known you your entire life. I still remember when I was six and you were four and my grandmother made some offhand remark to your mother about how cute it would be if we got married some day. I remember thinking that was the most horrible thing I had ever heard. Girls were annoying. Especially you. You would always follow me around, begging me to play with you. Then I got a little older and girls became a little more appealing, but I still just considered you a little girl, never a potential girlfriend. But then I remember looking at you one day, when you were about fifteen and realizing that you weren't a little girl anymore. You were pretty. You were beautiful. But you were with Colin by then. But then a few years later, you told me you loved me and I realized I loved you too."

He paused, giving my hand a small squeeze.

"We went our separate ways for a while, but we found our way back to each other. Because we belong together. I love you more than anything in the world, Vic. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want the last thing I see when I leave this world to be your face. So please, say you'll marry me. Because life without you isn't really life."

I felt my eyes filling with tears. "Oh, Teddy," I whispered. "Of course I'll marry you."

His face broke into the most dazzling smile I'd ever seen. He grabbed my face in his hands and kissed me. When we pulled apart, he whispered in my ear, "How was that for winging it?"

"It was amazing," I responded.

He opened the lid of the little gray box and slipped the ring on my finger.

"It's the ring my father gave my mother," he said. "I went and asked my grandmother for it a few weeks ago."

"It's beautiful," I said. Before I was able to stop myself, a small yawn escaped from my mouth.

"We should get some sleep," he said. "It's only 3:45."

I watched as he climbed back into the bed. "I don't know how much sleep I'll be able to get," I said, snuggling into him.

"Goonight, Vic," he whispered.

"Goodnight," I murmured in reply.

I guess getting engaged was more tiring than I previously believed because within a few minutes I was sound asleep.

Four months later, the day of the wedding arrived. We'd decided to get married at the Burrow. Hundreds of folding chairs were set up in the yard. There was a huge tent for the reception. Flowers were decorating everything. It had the makings of a perfect wedding.

But of course, being such a huge event, it was far from perfect. I supposed you could say a lot of things went wrong.

Like the fact that Jackie, who was the flower girl, made it halfway up the aisle with her little basket of flower petals, before turning the basket upside down and dumping the petals in a giant pile on the ground. She then proceeded to scamper off in the direction she came.

Or the fact that at the reception, Albus and James set my sister's dress on fire. Luckily, Dom had recently graduated from Hogwarts and had enough magical ability to put the fire out immediately before any real damage was done.

Rose and Scorpius Malfoy got in a huge fight on the dance floor after they were coerced into dancing by Andromeda against their will. It ended with Rose kneeing him in the groin and loudly calling him a bastard. But, I couldn't help but have my suspicions about the two of them. There was something about the look he gave her when she caught my bouquet that made me think that someday they would realize they didn't hate each other. Especially after I saw how red her face got when she caught him looking at her, causing her to drop the bouquet on the ground and bend down hastily to pick it up. Which of course caused his gaze to drift to her bum. He was definitely a fifteen-year-old boy.

I also saw my aunt Hermione duck behind a potted plant upon the sight of Victor Krum, who my mother had made me invite because the two of them had been in the Triwizard Tournament together a million years ago. And after that, mysterious things kept happening to Krum. Like, whenever he went to take a drink, his glass would suddenly be empty. One look at my uncle Ron laughing a few tables away and I knew immediately who was behind it.

And then something happened that I thought might actually be a good thing, but it turned disastrous as well. I saw Aidan approach Grace and say a few words to her before taking her hand and leading her onto the dance floor. She wrapped her arms around her neck and they swayed slowly to the music. But then the music stopped and Grace pulled away and hurried off the floor, without even a glance back.

And worst of all, I found Dom in the broom shed, snogging Robert, one of Teddy's groomsmen. I immediately dragged her out of there, telling her that if I caught her with him again there would be hell to pay; I could assure her of that. She was only eighteen and he was twenty-three, for god's sake.

But in the end none of these things really mattered. Because there was really only one thing about the wedding that was truly important. And it went completely according to plan. Not a single mistake.

I am of course referring to the moment when Teddy and I stood up before all the people we loved and said the words that bonded us together for life. In the end that was all the mattered. All the little things that happened before and after were trivial in comparison. They weren't important. Nothing was important except that Teddy and I had promised to spend the rest of our lives together.

"Do you, Ted Remus, take Victoire Fleur to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do."

And do you, Victoire Fleur, take Ted Remus to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do," I replied. I looked out into the crowd and saw my mum clutching my dad's hand, tears in my eyes. I smiled at them, before turning back to Teddy. My husband. The man I loved.

"Then I declare you bonded for life."

Well, I suppose saying that nothing else that happened was important was a bit of a lie. There was one thing that happened at the reception that I ended up bitterly wishing I could have stopped, but that I didn't find out about until two weeks later, when we returned from our honeymoon.

Dom had lost her virginity to Teddy's friend Robert that night.

After receiving the news, I curled up in a ball on our bed. Teddy came to sit down beside me.

"This is all my fault," I said. "I should have watched her more carefully after I caught them snogging. I should have made sure she understood the importance of waiting for the right boy. I should have made sure she knew that a drunken 23-year-old guy who shags you up against the wall of a broom shed is not the right boy."

"Vic…" said Teddy.

I cut him off. "I'm a bad sister," I whimpered. "I haven't spent enough time with her over the years. I'm a prime example of what not to do when it comes to boys and yet I never bothered to share my wisdom with her. I keep trying to comfort myself with the fact that she at least waited until she was three years older than I was when I first slept with Colin, but it's not working. He's twenty-three, Teddy. _Twenty-three_."

"Vic, it's going to be alright," he said, rubbing my back. "Who knows, maybe the two of them will fall in love, get married, have five kids, and live happily ever after. Stranger things have happened."

"You don't really believe that, do you?"

He snorted. "No. Robert's a manwhore."

I buried my face in my hands. "I should have done something."

"Vic," he murmured. "Look at me."

I slowly raised my head. "What?"

"You can't protect your sister, or your brother for that matter, from everything. They need to be allowed to make their own mistakes, or else they won't ever learn from them and grow into the people they're meant to be."

"But it's really hard to see Dom make some of the same mistakes I did and not be able to stop her."

"I know," he said. "But look at it this way; if you hadn't made all the mistakes that you did, you might not be here right now. Everything you've do, every choice you've made, has made you into the person you are today and given you the life you have. And if I do say so myself, I think your life is pretty good."

I nodded. "Yeah, it is."

"So you have to let Dom and Louis make their own choices and live their own lives. And they'll be fine, I promise."

"Yeah," I said. "I know they will." I paused, looking up at him. "But, that doesn't mean I'll object if you want to kick Robert's arse for me."

He laughed. "Maybe later," he said. "Right now, I have something better in mind."

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? And what would that be?"

He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me into his lap. "You'll see," he said, leaning in to kiss me.

* * *

><p><em>Teddy and Vic are married!<em>

_One more chapter and an epilogue left._

_Don't forget to leave me a review!_


	28. Chapter 28

Looking back on it later I realized how odd it was that after living in the same city as Colin for three years, the first time I ran into him since he left me was back in the town we'd both grew up in.

Two years after getting married, Teddy and I moved out of his flat in London and into a small house five minutes away from Shell Cottage. We decided a house near the beach would be a much better place to raise Jackie and any other children that could potentially come along than a flat in London.

And so, in the very store I'd first met him in eight years before, Colin entered my life once more, four years after I thought he'd left it for good.

I was buying a few items I needed for supper that night, when my hand collided with someone else's while reaching for a box of instant rice.

"Oops, sorry," I said, hastily withdrawing my hand.

"Vic?" I heard a voice exclaim. A very familiar voice.

For a minute the entire world seemed to stop, as I lifted my head and gazed into the eyes of Colin O'Brien for the first time in four years.

"Colin, what… what are you doing here?" I asked.

"Visiting my mum," he replied. "What are you doing here? I heard you moved to London."

He'd heard things about me? How had he heard things about me? I hadn't heard anything about him. He could have been dead for all I'd known.

"I… er… moved back," I stuttered. Talking to him was so difficult. It was like he was a stranger. Four years. I hadn't seen him in four years. He _was_ a stranger. "Teddy and I…we, erm… we bought a house."

I watched his face carefully to see if he looked surprised about the fact that Teddy and I had bought a house together. He didn't. Perhaps he had also heard that we had gotten married.

For some reason, I wasn't as angry as I expected myself to be if or when I ever saw Colin again. I had expected that I would yell at him. Maybe slap him. Or hex him. But, I guess four years had caused my anger towards to him to dissipate. Because now, looking at him, I didn't really feel much of anything. I didn't feel mad. And I certainly didn't feel anything that closely resembled love. I guess, without realizing it, I'd gotten over him. Utterly and completely.

The only thing that I felt was a slight twinge of sadness. Sadness that a boy who had once meant so much to me, now meant so little.

He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Vic, I need to talk to you."

"Alright," I said. "Go ahead."

He looked around. "Here?"

I nodded.

"Okay," he began. "I… I need… Erm, first off, I just want to say how sorry I am. I never should have left you. And I especially never should have left Jackie. I thought that by leaving her I would be doing her a favor, but I was wrong."

"Is that all?" I asked coolly.

"No," he replied. "Not even close. I… I really need you to understand that I regretted leaving her almost immediately after I did. Within two weeks of moving to London, I was convinced that I'd made the biggest mistake of my life. I thought leaving Jackie would be easier. But it wasn't. It was the most horrible thing I'd ever experienced. You can't imagine how many times I thought about coming back. But I didn't think there was any way you'd let me back into her life. I'd walked out on her. Why would you? And I heard from my mum that you and Teddy were together and happy and I didn't want to mess things up between you."

His mum. That's how he knew these things about me. For a second I felt a twinge of regret. When Colin had left, I'd pretty much wanted to rid my life of everything that reminded me of him. And so I had cut his mum out of my life. I had ducked out of the way when I had seen her in town. I had pretended I wasn't home when she knocked on my door. I hadn't answered any of her letters. And so, by the time a year had passed since Colin left and I had moved to into Teddy's flat in London, she had given up trying to contact me.

Which now struck me as unbelievably selfish. She was Jackie's grandmother. Her namesake. It wasn't her fault her son had walked out on me. She hadn't.

Colin waved his hand in front of my face. "Vic," he said. "What are you staring at?"

I had been lost in thought. I quickly snapped back to attention. "Nothing," I told him. "Go on with what you were saying."

"Er, well, I completely understand that you probably hate me and never want me to go near Jackie again. But I want you to know that I really have turned my life around. I met a girl. She's absolutely amazing .And I asked her to marry me and she said yes. I'm not in the band anymore. You were right; we were never going to get anywhere. I realized, with Ashley's help, that I needed to grow up and move on from that dream."

"She's seems like a smart girl," I said.

"She is," he replied. "She… she saved my life. I don't know what I'd do without her."

"That's wonderful, Colin. Really."

"She convinced me to quit smoking," he added with a grin.

I smiled. "Well, now I know she must be your soul mate. You never would have done that for me."

He took a deep breath. "But the point I'm trying to make it, my life is really great right now. But it's not perfect. Because there's one thing that's missing. My daughter. And I understand if you don't want me to see her. But, if I could, I'd be forever grateful. Because I never stopped regretting the fact that I left her. And now that I've turned my life around, she's the only thing missing."

"You know," I said, "I think somewhere in the back of my mind I kind of always thought that you might come back. For some reason, I could never bring myself to change Jackie's surname. It's still O'Brien. Everyone kept telling me to change it to Weasley, but I never seemed to get around to it. It's like I thought that once I changed it, then you would really be gone forever. But by keeping her name the same as yours, there was a possibility that you'd come back. Which sounds completely ridiculous, I know."

"I really want to be a part of her life again, Vic," he said. "I swear, you can trust me this time. I'm a different person. I'd never leave her again. Not ever."

"I guess I can't really say no," I said. "It doesn't seem fair to deny a girl her dad. If she wants you in her life, then I guess that's her decision. Not mine."

"Really?" he asked.

I nodded. "Really." I headed toward the counter. "Do you have everything you need?" I called over my shoulder.

He nodded.

"Then come pay," I said. "Then you can come back to my house with me."

"I get to see her now?" he asked, following me up to the counter.

"Is that a problem?" I asked.

"Nope," he replied. "Definitely not a problem."

When we arrived back at the house, I walked into the living room first. Teddy was sitting on the couch, reading his paper. Jackie was sitting on the floor, playing with her dolls.

I walked over to Teddy. "Hey, honey," I said, leaning down to kiss him. "Guess who I ran into at the store?"

"Who?" he asked, not looking up from his paper.

"Colin."

This time he looked up. "What?"

"Yeah and he's right outside the room right now. He says that he wants to be a part of Jackie's life again," I whispered.

Teddy's eyes widened. "You're just going to let him back into her life like that?" he hissed.

"I talked to him. He's really a changed person. I really do trust him this time."

Teddy stared at me for a moment. "Fine," he said. "If you trust him, then I trust him."

I smiled, kissing him again. "Hey, Colin," I called. "Come here."

He walked in the room, looking extremely nervous.

Jackie looked up. "Who are you?" she asked.

"Jackie, sweetie, this is your… your daddy," I said.

This fact didn't seem to faze her as much as I thought it would. Instead, she stood up and walked over to him. She stood in front of him, hands on her hips, and looked him up and down.

Finally she spoke. "Where have you been?" she demanded.

His eyes widened. He looked slightly scared. "Er, I… well…"

"Never mind," she said. "It doesn't matter."

He looked relieved.

"My mum says that when you meet someone new, you're supposed to introduce yourself," she told him. "So I'll introduce myself."

"Alright."

She cleared her throat. "My name is Jacqueline Fleur O'Brien," she began. "I'm five years old. I can read. I have a loose tooth. My favorite color is pink. And I love Quidditch and unicorns and playing on the beach." She looked at him expectedly. "Your turn."

"Er, alright. I'm Colin O'Brien and…"

"Middle name!" she snapped. "What's your middle name?"

"William," he said. "I'm Colin William O'Brien. I just turned twenty-four. And, erm…"

"Favorite color," she prompted.

"Green. My favorite color's green."

"That's Slytherin's color," she informed him. "Teddy says that I'm not allowed to be in Slytherin."

"Jackie, don't interrupt," I scolded.

"Sorry," she said. "Go on."

"Well that's about it, really," he said.

She looked at him like he was the stupidest person she'd ever seen. "No, it is not. You haven't told me what you love. I said that I love Quidditch, unicorns, and the beach. So what do you love?"

He considered this for a moment. "Well, I guess I love music, and I love my fiancée, and…"

"What's that?"

"A fiancée? That's what you call the person you're going to marry."

"You're getting married?"

He nodded.

"Can I come to the wedding?" she asked.

"Jackie!" I hissed.

"Yeah, of course," he replied.

"And can Mummy and Teddy come too?"

"I don't see why not," he responded.

She smiled. "Good. Now you just need to say one more thing you love. Because I said three and you've only said two."

"Oh, well, I suppose I love you."

She considered this statement for a moment. "But you don't know me," she finally said.

"I used to know you, when you were a baby. And I loved you then. And I never stopped. Even though I never saw you and I still thought about you every day."

"Oh," she said. "Can I read to you? Teddy's been teaching me. He says I'm quite good."

"Sure," he replied. "If you want to."

She took his hand and led him over to a chair. He sat down and she plopped down in his lap. She reached over to the table beside the chair and grabbed three books.

"Would you like to hear _The Little Broomstick That Could, Where the __Hippogriffs Are, _or_ Harold and the Purple Quill_?

"Any of them are fine with me," he replied.

"Okay, then I pick _Where the Hippogriffs Are._"

"Sounds good."

A few hours later, I walked back into the living room from the kitchen, where I had been making dinner. Colin and Jackie were both asleep in the chair, probably exhausted from her reading him seven books in a row. She was curled up in his lap. His hand was resting on her back. They looked so comfortable together. A father and his daughter. Reunited at last.

I went and sat down next to Teddy, curling up against him and resting my head against his shoulder.

I glanced up at him. "So what do you think?"

He looked over at them. "They kind of look perfect together. She's so comfortable around him, it's crazy. It's like he never left."

"That's what I was thinking," I said, closing my eyes and yawning.

"It's been an interesting day," said Teddy.

"It's been an interesting six years," I replied.

"Very true," he replied. "But a good six years."

"Yes, a very good six years," I said, yawning again. "Wake me up when the timer on the oven goes off."

"Will do," he replied.

I felt myself drifting off. Teddy wrapped his arm around me and pulled me closer.

"I love you ,Teddy," I whispered.

"Love you too," he murmured.

* * *

><p><em>Next is the epilogue. I've put a picture of teenage Jackie on my profile, so that should give you an idea of when it will be taking place.<em>

_I've decided to write a sequel. It's going to be about Dominique. So hopefully you guys will enjoy that. _

_Thanks for reading! Please review!_

_Oh and I know some of you aren't big fans of Colin, but he was always going to come back. Hopefully you don't mind him as much when he's not Vic's love interest._


	29. Epilogue

**Twelve Years Later**

"Dad!" Jackie yelled, darting through a crowd of people at King's Cross to the spot just inside the entrance where Colin was standing with his wife and twin daughters.

Teddy and I followed closely behind, my hand wrapped firmly around our six-year-old son, Remus. It was June and in a few months Jackie, who was seventeen, would be heading off to her final year at Hogwarts. Right now, she was about to go to Scotland with Colin and his family for a wedding. His aunt was marrying her hairdresser.

"Hey, sweetheart," said Colin, hugging her. "Ready to head to Scotland?"

"Of course," she replied." There's nothing that sounds more thrilling than attending my great-aunt's wedding."

"I heard it's going to be the wedding of the century," said Ashley, Colin's wife, smiling.

Colin turned to me and Teddy. "Hey, Vic. Hey, Teddy."

"Hello," I said, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. I hugged Ashley and waved at their two daughters, who were both eight.

Remus tugged his hand out of mine and ran over to Colin, wrapping his arms around his leg.

Remus was an energetic child. And by energetic I meant that he was the most out of control kid in the entire world. Trying to keep him in control was like trying to tame a bull in a china shop. It wasn't like we'd done a bad job raising him; he just had a severe case of ADHD.

"Uncle Colin!" he screeched. "Take me with you!"

He called Colin his "uncle" because that's what Colin basically was to him. He was the like the cool uncle who never scolded him for anything and sometimes slipped him candy before meals.

"Sorry, kid," he said, trying to shake him off his leg. "But your parents won't let me."

"Colin," I said, reaching down and picking Remus up, "it's not that we won't let you. Not having to deal with this kid for a week would be the most relieving thing in the world. We're actually sparing you. Can you imagine trying to deal with him in a different country for an entire week? Trying to keep him quiet during a wedding?"

"Point taken," replied Colin.

We all began walking towards the platform their train would be leaving from.

"We actually have two weddings coming up later this summer and I'm still trying to figure out if we should bring him."

"Two weddings?" asked Ashley. "Who?"

"My cousin Rose is marrying Scorpius Malfoy later this month."

Colin chuckled. "That name gets me every time. _Scorpius Malfoy._"

"His entire family has weird names," said Jackie. "Draco. Lucius. Abraxas."

"And my friends Aidan and Grace are getting married in August."

Colin looked confused. "Didn't they already get married? And then divorced? Or am I thinking of someone else?"

"Nope," replied Teddy. "You're thinking of them. They have a… complicated relationship."

I nodded. Complicated indeed. They'd gotten together at Hogwarts. Then broken up a year after graduation. Then gotten back together five years later. Then broken up for a few months. Then gotten back together. Then gotten married. They were married two years before the divorce. Then two years after that they had gotten back together. And now they were trying marriage again.

As complicated as their relationship was, I was sure that they were never actually going to break up for good. They were soul mates. Aidan knew that. And Grace didn't. That was the problem. She was always convinced that they weren't actually right for each other. But then after they were apart for a while, she'd realize that they actually were and go back to him. If only she could remember that realization for good.

We arrived at the platform, but the train wasn't due to leave for a little while, so we all stood around talking for a little bit longer.

Jackie struck up a conversation with Ashley and the twins. Teddy and Colin began talking about Quidditch. Colin thought Quidditch was the most fascinating thing in the world. Their conversation was interrupted when Remus spotted Platform 9 and ¾ and went running toward it. He slammed into it and fell backwards, immediately bursting into tears. Everyone turned to stare at him.

"I'll go get him," sighed Teddy.

I turned to Colin. "So have you heard about Jackie's boyfriend?"

Colin's mouth dropped open. "Her _what_?"

"They've been dating for about a month."

"A month!" he exclaimed. "Then why am I just now hearing about this? Why hasn't she told me before?" His voice was gradually getting louder and louder.

"Well, Colin, I expect it's because she knew you'd react like this."

"What's he like?" he demanded. His face paled. "Oh god. He's not anything like I was, is he? Because if she's dating some punk who thinks he's a rock star, then so help me god, I will rip off his…"

"Colin!" I snapped. "Calm down!"

"Jackie!" he called. "Come here!"

Jackie turned away from Ashley and made her way over to us. "What?"

"What's this I hear about you having a boyfriend?"

Jackie glared at me. "You told him?"

"I had to, sweetie. He's your father."

"Are you having sex with him?" asked Colin.

Jackie looked horrified. "Dad!"

"Because I'm pretty sure that we've discussed how you are not allowed to have sex until you're thirty."

"Dad!"

"You're right, that's too young. Thirty-five…. Maybe forty."

Jackie face was turning redder and redder. She glanced around at the people who were passing by. "Keep your voice down," she pleaded.

"Sweetheart, you're seventeen. I know the kind of things seventeen year olds like to do. Your mum and I did them when we were seventeen. That's how you came into existence."

Jackie buried her face in her hands. "Dad," she mumbled, "shut up. God."

"Colin…" I said.

"I'm just looking out for her. I don't want her and this kid to be acting like we did when we were their age."

"Dad," she said, looking up, "you don't have to worry about that, okay? I'm not having sex with him. Nor do I plan to anytime soon."

Colin looked relieved. "Good. But, just so you know, if this kid hurts you in anyway, Teddy and I will come after him." He glanced over at Teddy, who had just come back with Remus. "Isn't that right, Teddy?"

Teddy nodded. "I'll just Avada him. That will make things really easy for us."

Jackie groaned. "It's really just my luck that I have _two_ father figures in my life to threaten my boyfriend and harass me about my sex life."

"The sex life you don't have," interrupted Teddy.

She glared at him.

He shrugged. "It's true. And it better stay that way for a long time."

"You two are so embarrassing," she said. "Mum, tell them to leave me alone."

I shook my head. "I don't think anything I say will make them leave you alone, sweetie."

"You're our baby girl," said Colin. "We're never going to leave you alone."

"Colin, honey," called Ashley, "we should get going."

"Alright," he replied. "I'll be right there." He turned to me. "See you guys in a week," he said. He ruffled Remus's hair. "I'll bring you back a present, kid. How does that sound?"

Remus grinned. "Awesome."

Jackie hugged Teddy and me. "Bye," she said. "I love you guys."

"We love you too," I replied.

We waved goodbye and stood there until the train disappeared from sight.

I grabbed Remus's hand in one of mine, and Teddy's with the other. Teddy squeezed it, smiling down at me. "You ready to go?" he asked.

"Yup," I replied.

We began walking toward the exit.

"Can we go get ice cream?" asked Remus.

"We'll see," Teddy replied.

"Can I go to Hogwarts?" he asked.

"Not until you're eleven," I told him.

"Can I be a Slytherin?"

"Absolutely not," said Teddy.

"What if I am?"

"I'll disown you."

"Teddy!" I scolded.

"Just kidding."

"I want ice cream."

"Only if you're quiet for the next five minutes," I said.

At the ice cream parlor, Remus insisted on sitting at his own table. Which was fine with me.

"That kid is going to cause me to go gray prematurely," I told Teddy. "I swear."

Teddy reached out and grabbed a piece of my hair. "I think you already are," he said, laughing.

"Shut up," I said, slapping his hand away. "You're such a liar."

He smiled at me. "It wouldn't matter anyway. I'll love you no matter how gray your hair gets."

"And I'll love you no matter how much of your hair you end up losing," I said, sticking my tongue out at him.

He chuckled, shaking his head. He looked over at Remus, who had managed to get chocolate ice cream on nearly every inch of his body.

"Can you believe we've been married fourteen years?" he asked.

I lifted my cup of ice cream. "Here's to fourteen more," I toasted.

"Here, here," he said, raising his cone.

"I need a napkin," announced Remus.

We glanced at each other. Teddy smiled as he stood up. He held out his hand. "Come on," he said, "we got a kid to clean up."

I reached out, taking his hand in my own, smiling.

A lot had changed since I'd found out I was pregnant eighteen years before.

But, I was happy.

Very happy.

* * *

><p><em>So that's it. I hope you all enjoyed this ending to the story. And I hope you liked reading the story as much as I liked writing it. I just want to thank everyone who took the time to read and review. I love you all. I've loved writing this story and I'm sad it's over, but I'm looking forward to writing the sequel, which I hope you all decide to read. <em>

_Thank you again._

_~Emma~_


	30. Author's Note

**Author's Note**

Chapter one of the sequel to this story is up. It's called _Victoire's Little Sister. _I hope you enjoy it!


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